5 replies to this topic

[Joshaeus]

'ello all! Just a question about northern redbelly temp tolerance...from their range, I would think they might not be too fond of high temps, a fact that could be a problem in the water garden I am setting up over the first two months. Speaking of which...is this fish (and/or banded killifishes) readily available in Maine bait shops? And are there any other small Maine fishes with good warm water tolerance?

[littlen]

Aeration and duration are the only things you need to consider.  Disclaimer: I've never kept dace in an outdoor pond/water garden.

 

With that said, as long as they have good aeration, (keep in mind this is a stream species that is used to high D.O.), and they aren't kept in bathtub-warm water for several months, they should be ok.  I've kept Southern and Mountain Redbelly dace in low-to-mid 70's all year and they did great--even spawned.

I think you could get away with it.  Try to keep it out of direct sunlight if possible, or for a short period.  Especially if it is an above ground pond.  They tend to cook faster.

[Evan P]

Northern Redbelly Dace actually are not a stream species in the sense that we typically think, but a pond/bog/slow flowing stream species. That being said, they are still used to cooler water that is definitely quite clean.

[Michael Wolfe]

Aeration and duration are the only things you need to consider.  Disclaimer: I've never kept dace in an outdoor pond/water garden.

 

With that said, as long as they have good aeration, (keep in mind this is a stream species that is used to high D.O.), and they aren't kept in bathtub-warm water for several months, they should be ok.  I've kept Southern and Mountain Redbelly dace in low-to-mid 70's all year and they did great--even spawned.

I think you could get away with it.  Try to keep it out of direct sunlight if possible, or for a short period.  Especially if it is an above ground pond.  They tend to cook faster.

 

I would like to offer a counter opinion regarding what it might take to keep fish outside.  I killed a bunch of fish by circulating the water in the summertime (causing all the water to become one temperature... a high temperature).  So I might actually recommend against the aeration.  I would rather a deep outdoor tank that is in contact with the ground.  Adding a water lily for shade might keep the deep water cooler in the summer months.

[littlen]

.....didn't think about that.  Good point.  I got hooked more on the aeration aspect and didn't think that it would homogenize the temp throughout the container.

[smbass]

I agree with Michael he has some good wisdom on this. I too keep a lot of fish outdoors in summer and lilies and other veg in a small pool sounds like perfect Northern Redbelly habitat (fits their natural setting). I have not bred this species in ponds but I seem to recall Ray Wolfe telling me he used this species in his outdoor ponds as a food source for his sunfish and gar that he keeps. He did not really have a lot of interest in the redbellies, to him they were just food for his bigger fish. I would take that as they did well and reproduced in his ponds to help support his bigger fish. Scale of size is also important. The bigger the outdoor tank/pond the more you can have going on. Last summer I had several gar in a pond and yet had a reproducing population of bluntnose minnow, bantam sunfish, and redear sunfish all in the same pond. This is about a 3500 gallon pond though not 20. Twenty if it has good ground contact and shade should support a few northern redbelly dace if set up well but not sure that is enough space for reproduction.