5 replies to this topic

[Sean Phillips]

A friend of mine who's done a lot of collecting around me told me about a creek that's 30-40 minutes south of me where there's tons of northern hogsuckers. I've been trying to find a nice sucker for the 75 riffle tank I'm setting up and NHSs seem like a good candidate as most of my local suckers are whites which get to big for a 75 for life. I know NHSs can get 24" or so but I've personally never seen one that big. If I caught a juvenile, how long do you guys think it would last bioload and compatibility wise in a 75 gallon (48"x18"x20") with 5-6 redside dace, 5-6 silverjaw minnows, 5-6 emerald shiners, 6 Banded killifish, 1 Bluntnose minnow, 3-4 Rainbow Darters, 3-4 Greenside Darters, 3-4 Variegate Darters, 3-4 Banded Darters, and 2-3 Logperch. (I know that sounds like an overstocked tank but they're mainly small species). Filtration for the tank will be a river system filter with two sponges and two powerheads, an additional 2 sponge filters, and a fluval 406 canister filter.

[Michael Wolfe]

I know NHSs can get 24" or so but I've personally never seen one that big. 

I sure have... come down this way and snorkel the Conasauga... although techncially they are Alabama Hogsuckers....

 

 

If I caught a juvenile, how long do you guys think it would last bioload and compatibility wise in a 75 gallon (48"x18"x20") with 5-6 redside dace, 5-6 silverjaw minnows, 5-6 emerald shiners, 6 Banded killifish, 1 Bluntnose minnow, 3-4 Rainbow Darters, 3-4 Greenside Darters, 3-4 Variegate Darters, 3-4 Banded Darters, and 2-3 Logperch. (I know that sounds like an overstocked tank but they're mainly small species). Filtration for the tank will be a river system filter with two sponges and two powerheads, an additional 2 sponge filters, and a fluval 406 canister filter.

If you get a really small one (like in the 3-4 inch range... as small as your darters... then you should be able to have several years of growth... and a 10 inch fish is not too big for a standard 75 gallon tank.  I am attempting to grow one right now in fact, and he is doing quite well in a 40 gallon breeder tub with some darters (much lighter stocking density than you are talking about).

 

I think your real problem is going to be getting enough food down to him.  They are not always aggressive feeders.  And so you will need to overfeed a big to get some stuff left over on the bottom of the tank for him to browse on (that's why I am growing mine out with darters, they don't compete too much with him for food on the bottom of the tank).  Also, I have found that you need a big chunk of the bottom of the tank to have a sand substrate in order for the hogsucker to be able to sift sand and take in nutrients that way (thats what that face is for).  Some time back people thought these were impossible to keep because they were catching larger fish and they would waste away... never getting enough to eat.  The trick seems to be to have a sand substrate and to be able to get a lot of food down to them... and of course, start with smaller fish that will "learn" how to manage captive food selections better.

[Sean Phillips]

Alright, I plan on having 3-4" of sand substrate for the entire tank since I have silverjaw minnows as well. I'll be happy to target feed if necessary too.

[Kanus]

Sean, I recently had a Roanoke Hogsucker that had a distinct sandy feeding area (mostly planted tank). I took a feeding syringe and inserted a length of rigid airline tubing in the end. With this, I was able to inject frozen food just below the surface of the sand and he would quickly clean it up. He unfortunately met an untimely end, but for the year or so I had him he was healthy, visibly full after feedings, and grew a little (though, at 4 inches, he was nearing max size anyway).

I currently have a NHS in a sand bottomed tank who is doing well also. He has much less competition for food (Enneacanthus and mudminnows) and I don't need to do anything extra and he does just fine. I think the recipe for success with these guys is just sand and making sure they get to the food, either through target feeding or lack of competition.

[mattknepley]

I will echo the sentiment that hogsuckers do not do well with competition. Some day I would like a tank with just them. Mine had sand, and food definitely got down to them, but those mean ol' bluehead chubs pushed 'em off it no matter what approach I tried.

[Michael Wolfe]

There you go... Nocomis are just too hungry all the time... I mean they don't call 'em chubs for nothin'.  But seriously, I think that is direct competition for food that does make its way to the bottom.  With darters or topminnows or maybe even shiners, I would be less concerned... they don't like to eat off the bottom as much.  I don't think they have to be alone, I just think you need to pay attention to who is eating where (and Nocomis is eatin' everywhere!).