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FL biotope: H. formosa, L. ommata, or F. chrysotus?


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#1 Guest_velvetelvis_*

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Posted 16 August 2013 - 09:39 PM

I was originally going to keep darters in my freshwater setup, but I missed having a planted tank. It's a 50G cube, 24" x 24" x 20", which has been converted into a sort of weedy, overgrown, shallow-water biotope with a sandy bottom, planted with giant hairgrass and Najas (and a few hitchhiker bits of duckweed). Kind of like the ditches and ponds I fondly remember collecting from as a kid in Florida. For simplicity's sake, and because I like single-species setups, this will be a species tank. I'm also sticking with captive-bred livestock.

The tank is cycled and looking good. Lots of tiny pond snails breeding everywhere--I figure they'll make good fish food. I hope to add livestock as soon as the Najas fills out and provides a little more cover. I'm debating between the three fishes mentioned in the thread title. I have a soft spot for chrysotus, since they were one of my favorite fish to catch growing up. There are a couple of good breeders who have the gorgeous melanistic strain available now. But chrysotus are active fish that get a little bigger, and the tank is a cube and therefore doesn't have as much swimming space as a conventional 50G. I hate seeing fish pace the sides of too-small tanks. And I keep reading conflicting reports on intraspecies aggression.

I like the look of tiny fish in bigger tanks, so I'm also considering L. ommata or H. formosa. I'm also thinking that with heavy enough planting and feeding, I might eventually have a self-sustaining colony, provided that inbreeding doesn't become an issue. I'm kind of leaning towards the formosa, but I like the tiny killies, too. At one point I'd considered flagfish as well--I think Zimmerman's is sold out, though.

Which would be your pick? Decisions, decisions...

#2 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 16 August 2013 - 09:50 PM

Are you adding ammonia for a fishless cycle? If not, without fish, how is the tank cycled?

#3 Guest_EricaLyons_*

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Posted 16 August 2013 - 10:01 PM

Darters like plants. They don't have swim bladders so they use the plants as ledges. My profile picture is an example. If they have a reason to go up there (like hunting and eating livebearer fry), they will.
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#4 Michael Wolfe

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Posted 16 August 2013 - 10:06 PM

The L. ommata would be great in a tank like that... I have had moderate luck raising them in a ten gallon, but I think they would thrive more in a larger system.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

#5 Guest_velvetelvis_*

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Posted 16 August 2013 - 10:09 PM

Skipjack--I used a sponge from a long-running setup to seed the tank, and also added fish food periodically to encourage ammonia. It's been running for about six weeks by now.

Erica--thanks! The only reason I decided against darters is that none of the slackwater species are captive-bred (as far as I know), and I want this tank to be at least a somewhat accurate Florida biotope. The captive-bred darters I've seen for sale are not native to Florida, and also aren't found in this kind of habitat.

#6 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 16 August 2013 - 10:25 PM

Got ya. Was just wondering. I really dig the whole nitrogen cycle. I have been amazed at how fast I have been able to cycle tanks with a seeded filter, and daily doses of pure ammonia. I cycled tanks many other ways prior, but my preference is feeding ammonia, it is amazing. I love to pull the test tubes out daily, and watch it all happen.

#7 Guest_velvetelvis_*

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Posted 18 August 2013 - 07:08 PM

Watching a tank mature is fun. Especially when all the critters like snails and springtails start to pop up. Even more so in my saltwater biotope, where I have sponges and tiny tubeworms growing everywhere. :)

I came across another pretty topminnow at a vendor's site: Fundulus escambia (russetfin topminnow). I did a search here and saw that someone mentioned them as a peaceful aquarium fish. Does anyone else have any experience with them?



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