12 replies to this topic

[Sean Phillips]

I've been planning for a while to go and catch some darters a few weeks before their spawning season and bring them into a warmer tank to spawn. I'm either collecting today in a few hours if the 20 mi winds calm down or this weekend. It's still not a guarantee I'll catch anything since my creek is still fairly high and I've only ever caught Johnnys in it but I've also not collected in it very much before as I've had more luck in the allegheny river shallows.

Getting to the point, if I do manage to catch a few rainbows then my plan is to acclimate them to room temp for a few hours and then add them to a 64-66 degree tank to trigger spawning. I have a few questions about this though as I've read severel different spawning reports of rainbows.

1) How many males and females should I collect for spawning in a 20 high (24"x12"x16") (my only 100% free tank now)?

2) How long should I keep them in this tank before removing them and watching for fry?

3) Should I feed them while they're in the spawning tank, if so then what?

4) Would gravel from this creek or pool filter sand be a better substrate for spawning? And how thick of a substrate should I go with (ex 1" deep, 2" deep, etc)?

5) Local waters are in the high 30s, low 40s, is this optimum temp to bring them into captivity at to spawn?

6) How long does it take for eggs to hatch and what should I feed fry?

7) Any decor in the tank for spawning purposes?

8 ) Is a sponge filter without a powerhead okay for spawning the parents or should I invest in a small powerhead to use until they lay their eggs?

9) Is this method of capturing during prespawn to breed in captivity applicable to other darters like bandeds and greensides?

Thanks everyone!

-Sean

[Chasmodes]

Good questions that I was wondering too for my planned set up.  My goal is looks and coloration at first, but if they spawn, I need to adapt to them.  That is, if I'm lucky enough to find some rainbow darters down my way.

[Sunfish Catcher 321]

I read a article about putting a ceramic plate with a rim to lay eggs in.

[Sean Phillips]

Anyone?

[smbass]

You should e-mail Bob Muller who is on the BOD. He has bred a lot of darters including rainbows. He is not real active on the forum but you can find his contact info through the home page. Then you can post back here what he tells you for everyone to see.

[gerald]

Ceramic plate or tile is good for species that stick their eggs on the underside of flat rocks, like Johnny and Fantail.   Rainbows, Orangethroats and their relatives wiggle their bellies down into coarse sand/gravel to spawn, usually in areas with flow so the current keeps the buried eggs from suffocating.  A shallow dish of clean coarse sand or gravel placed near a filter return to provide some current might work.  That method works for gravel-spawning shiners and dace.

 

I read a article about putting a ceramic plate with a rim to lay eggs in.

[Sean Phillips]

Couldn't turn up a darter today, let alone a single fish if any kind. Seined for about half an hour after a day of fishing with no action and I couldn't even spot a minnow in the creek. Really it's just the main part of my main local creek that I never catch any minnows or darters on. Even in the summer, all I catch is creek chubs of varying sizes and white suckers. I blame people because it's heavily stocked with non native trout and there's a ton of acid mine drainage plus street salt that comes from the road.

[Matt DeLaVega]

Some creeks near me are quite like that without trout or acid mine drainage. It is just the fish assemblage. Chubs, white suckers, stunted green sunfish, and the occasional bullhead and bluntnose minnow.

[Matt DeLaVega]

Sounds to me like you need bigger water.

[Sean Phillips]

Sounds to me like you need bigger water.

Going to hit the Allegheny River when the water gets to 40 degrees. It's currently just over 37.

[Sean Phillips]

Well, I was able to contact Bob Muller, and get plenty of good information from him. Unfortunately, the rain here has been harsh and the river is the highest it's been all year. And since it's illegal to fish in any of my creeks (and the PFBC considers seining for "bait" to be fishing) until April 18th, all hope for getting some wild rainbows this spawning season is gone as water temps are now up to 50 so most darters have probably already spawned, although it's a good sign for fishing so it's not all bad. I'll learn as much as I can his year and I'll be spawning some other natives this spring like killies and sunfish so by next spring I should be fully prepared to spawn Darters. Though, I may put a half dozen or so Johnnys in a small outdoor pond come May since they're later Spawners and my breeding pair in a 5.5g isnt showing any action yet.

[Matt DeLaVega]

I highly doubt that all rainbows in PA have spawned. I don't even think they have spawned here in southern Ohio yet. Water is still too high, and water temps are not consistently in the 50's. You still have a couple weeks to collect gravid females.

[smbass]

I agree with Matt you still have time.