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Mottled Sculpin

Started by Guest_rndouglas_* , Feb 05 2014 03:00 PM

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10 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_rndouglas_*

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Posted 05 February 2014 - 03:00 PM

All the snow in central Missouri closed Mizzou again today....so I spent some time watching my 40g tank. All I have in it at the moment is a Slender Madtom, a Mottled Sculpin, and a little Longear Sunfish.

The sculpin was out front and center for once, so I had to grab my camera and take a few photos. I think these were the best three I managed before s/he scooted off into a cave.

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#2 Guest_BenCantrell_*

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Posted 05 February 2014 - 03:19 PM

Nice pictures. Which drainage was it from?

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#3 Guest_rndouglas_*

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Posted 05 February 2014 - 03:29 PM

We were in Saline Creek....which I believe dumps into the Osage River a bit downstream of the Lake of the Ozarks.

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#4 mattknepley

NANFA Member

Smack-dab between the Savannah and the Saluda.

Posted 05 February 2014 - 09:25 PM

Fantastic pictures!

Matt Knepley
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."

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#5 Isaac Szabo

NANFA Member

Marble Falls, AR

Posted 06 February 2014 - 12:10 AM

Nice photos. Sculpins can have such interesting patterns and colors when viewed up close.

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#6 Guest_Usil_*

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Posted 06 February 2014 - 11:28 AM

Do sculpin require cooler water? Do they do well in the summer in an unregulated aquarium?

Usil

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#7 Guest_Casper_*

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Posted 06 February 2014 - 12:13 PM

Nice pictures Douglas. They are a bit easier to photo capture as they sit and wait for you to steady and click.
Usil... Years ago i tried to keep a few but summer temps in my studio did not treat them well. And they were also difficult to feed if they share aquariums with darters and shiners, much more active feeders. Tweezering twisting earthworms directly in their faces worked but required patience.
I only see Sculpins in cool water, as they are often the first species encountered at a spring head.
Interesting fish indeed.

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#8 Guest_Usil_*

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Posted 06 February 2014 - 12:43 PM

Thanks Casper. Same experience as I have with them. Always caught in cool water and did not fare well in my home aquarium when I was younger. Very interesting fish but had special needs.

Usil

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#9 Michael Wolfe

Board of Directors

North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 06 February 2014 - 02:31 PM

I agree with you both... but have always wondered about the chattahoochee sculpin that we caught well south of atlanta... now the water was definitely cooler and flowing and likely well oxygenated... but still it made me wonder if it one could be more successful with a species that naturally occurs farther south... but just wonder, I never tried so dont have any data.

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

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#10 Guest_Casper_*

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Posted 06 February 2014 - 02:50 PM

Springs and runs have a temp for basically 60 65 degrees even in the hot south summers. Typical home air in the summer is about 80 and even more in tanks with submersible pumps and lights bright.
Folks up north with basement tanks seem to do best with a variety of species, holding their color well.
In the South it's Florida fish that do really well, at least in my experience. I've had very nice 55's lush with plants, compact flos and minimal or no filtration. Plants providing living filtration.
A sculpin would never make it in such, nor many darters... except for those swampers.
Sculpins are cool but need proper conditions to live.

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#11 Guest_rndouglas_*

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Posted 06 February 2014 - 05:37 PM

I've had this fish since late last May or early June. I think the tank got up to about 70F in our basement during the summer. Right now it sits between 55-60F, and I've got a strong current (two Koralia 2s and an AC70) sending water right to left to simulate a stream. When I do water changes the water has been dipping down to ~50F for a few hours. I've had this guy/girl eat frozen bloodworms, the occasional live earthworm, and frozen spirulina-enriched brine shrimp.