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Darter Care


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#1 strat guy

strat guy
  • NANFA Guest
  • Orland Park, IL

Posted 19 April 2015 - 04:48 PM

So I've just recently discovered the whole INHS thing which is absolutely amazing, and I see that the four darters in my area that are common are the orange throated, banded, rainbow, and johnny. Also, I'm interested in log perches. I'm not interested in the johnny because they're rather plain. Are there any necessary things to know about these fish? Can I keep them together, or is it better to keep only one species? Do the different species prefer different foods? I'm probably going to be relying on frozen food to feed them, any tips there on food selection? Thanks in advance.


120 low tech native planted - Blackstriped Topminnow, Central Stoneroller, Fathead minnow, Golden Shiner, Black chin shiner, Carmine Shiner, Emerald Shiner, Sand Shiner, Spotfin Shiner, Orangethroat darter, Johnny Darter, and Banded Darter.


#2 Michael Wolfe

Michael Wolfe
  • Board of Directors
  • North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 19 April 2015 - 05:25 PM

Read more here on the forum and use the search function.  Most of these questions are probably already answered here in detail.  But just a quick overview... the three Etheostoma darters you mentioned are all relatively good neighbors and could be kept together in a large tank.  No they don't really need different foods. If you are going to go with frozen, they will all accept brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms and mysis shrimp.

 

The main thing to remember about darters is that they need clean cool water and prefer some current.  This particularly helps when feeding frozen food as you can introduced the thawed frozen food into a powerhead and it stimulates them to see the food dancing in the current.  Also remember they are bottom dwellers so extra height in the tank is wasted.


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

#3 Sean Phillips

Sean Phillips
  • NANFA Member
  • Allegheny River Drainage, Southwest PA

Posted 19 April 2015 - 05:55 PM

I've found that of the species you've listed, rainbows prefer at least some current but can survive without it. Bandeds really don't thrive unless kept in at least moderate current. Johnnys seem to prefer minimal or no current though and I keep my breeding pair quite nicely in a 5.5 gallon with just a sponge filter for flow. I have no personal experience with orangethroats though.
Sean Phillips - Pine Creek Watershed - Allegheny River Drainage

#4 NotCousteau

NotCousteau
  • NANFA Guest
  • Minnesota

Posted 19 April 2015 - 06:43 PM

What I'll add is that darters can easily be taught to eat flake (if you submerse it with your fingers) and pellets. I don't use them as staples, but it's nice to use them in a pinch.

My rainbows are fine without a current. I had a very powerful koralia and when I turned it off, they used more of the tank.

#5 Michael Wolfe

Michael Wolfe
  • Board of Directors
  • North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 19 April 2015 - 06:59 PM

I agree that many darters (and rainbows would be one) are fine without the current.  The real reason to have some current is to make the "dead" food dance and invoke a feeding response, and second to create more surface area and oxygenation in the water.  Some would say that oxygenation is more important than temperature (warm water holds less oxygen than colder water, so it may be the oxygen content that is the problem with warm water, not the actual heat) and oxygenation is helped by having more surface area, which is greatly increased with a turbulent surface.


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

#6 gerald

gerald
  • Global Moderator
  • Wake Forest, North Carolina

Posted 19 April 2015 - 09:38 PM

"Easily" is not the word I would have used here.  I've had a few darters learn to eat flakes or pellets, but most have not.  Depends in part on species of course -- orangethroat and rainbow adapt better than many others -- but even within a species some are more picky than others.  Agree with others, current is not necessary for keeping them, except for breeding the gravel-spawners.

 

What I'll add is that darters can easily be taught to eat flake (if you submerse it with your fingers) and pellets. I don't use them as staples, but it's nice to use them in a pinch.


Gerald Pottern
-----------------------
Hangin' on the Neuse
"Taxonomy is the diaper used to organize the mess of evolution into discrete packages" - M.Sandel


#7 strat guy

strat guy
  • NANFA Guest
  • Orland Park, IL

Posted 22 April 2015 - 07:59 PM

Well current isn't really an issue, I have an 800gph pond pump circulating the water plus powerbeads on top of that. Plenty of water movement. I've got lots of snails too, and a pond outside that is a snail breeding ground so I can get even more for them food-wise. I throw ghost shrimp in there from time to time too.

 

Any info on log perches? I have both Percina maculata and Percina caprodes near me. Only info I saw on them in the search function was "treat them like big darters." Do these guys really get that big? I saw 6" for caprodes, but I would assume that means the average is around 4.5. Any info on these guys?


120 low tech native planted - Blackstriped Topminnow, Central Stoneroller, Fathead minnow, Golden Shiner, Black chin shiner, Carmine Shiner, Emerald Shiner, Sand Shiner, Spotfin Shiner, Orangethroat darter, Johnny Darter, and Banded Darter.


#8 Michael Wolfe

Michael Wolfe
  • Board of Directors
  • North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 22 April 2015 - 09:12 PM

Yes, they are really 5-6 inches even in an aquarium.  Yes, they are big darters.  They actually adapt well to aquarium life, and learn to see the food guy coming and learn to eat frozen food.  I had one in a 75 gallon tank for a few years, he was a great fish.


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

#9 strat guy

strat guy
  • NANFA Guest
  • Orland Park, IL

Posted 23 April 2015 - 07:52 PM

Cool. Now for the stupid weather to settle down so I can get out in the water...


120 low tech native planted - Blackstriped Topminnow, Central Stoneroller, Fathead minnow, Golden Shiner, Black chin shiner, Carmine Shiner, Emerald Shiner, Sand Shiner, Spotfin Shiner, Orangethroat darter, Johnny Darter, and Banded Darter.


#10 Matt DeLaVega

Matt DeLaVega
  • Forum Staff
  • Ohio

Posted 25 April 2015 - 09:08 AM

Honestly 6 inches might even be a bit conservative. I have seen some pretty big logperch.


The member formerly known as Skipjack


#11 strat guy

strat guy
  • NANFA Guest
  • Orland Park, IL

Posted 28 April 2015 - 07:49 PM

Well I've got the space, so it would be pretty cool to have a larger darter in there. Aside from that, the only other "large" fish I would want would be a stoneroller, neither of which are all that big.


120 low tech native planted - Blackstriped Topminnow, Central Stoneroller, Fathead minnow, Golden Shiner, Black chin shiner, Carmine Shiner, Emerald Shiner, Sand Shiner, Spotfin Shiner, Orangethroat darter, Johnny Darter, and Banded Darter.


#12 gerald

gerald
  • Global Moderator
  • Wake Forest, North Carolina

Posted 29 April 2015 - 10:11 AM

Wonder if you could train a logperch and a stoneroller to play soccer together ... like rats playing basketball.


Gerald Pottern
-----------------------
Hangin' on the Neuse
"Taxonomy is the diaper used to organize the mess of evolution into discrete packages" - M.Sandel


#13 strat guy

strat guy
  • NANFA Guest
  • Orland Park, IL

Posted 30 April 2015 - 07:36 PM

lol I'm down for trying ha ha


120 low tech native planted - Blackstriped Topminnow, Central Stoneroller, Fathead minnow, Golden Shiner, Black chin shiner, Carmine Shiner, Emerald Shiner, Sand Shiner, Spotfin Shiner, Orangethroat darter, Johnny Darter, and Banded Darter.





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