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#1 AV8R

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Posted 30 August 2016 - 11:03 AM

Hi Y'all! I'm new to the forum and have been in the aquarium hobby for a while, mostly tropical freshwater planted tanks. I've had a bow front tank set up for about a year with native species from my local stream, a couple of darter species, sculpins, and a shadow bass. I recently found a spot with Alabama shiners and was wondering if anyone keeps these in an aquarium. They are a very active fish that seem to love the current and would make a great addition I think. I'm setting up a 125 gallon tank with a sump for my natives and am going with the river/stream theme. Any pointers and species recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

#2 NotCousteau

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Posted 30 August 2016 - 02:46 PM

Don't have any experience with that fish. Just wanted to say welcome! And good luck! Shiners are great fish.

#3 fundulus

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Posted 30 August 2016 - 06:17 PM

Cyprinella species are always suckers for fast current, and are very athletic in general. They're heavy feeders and likely to outcompete other fish in the tank for food, not counting other food hogs like striped shiners.
Bruce Stallsmith, Huntsville, Alabama, US of A

#4 Michael Wolfe

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  • North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 30 August 2016 - 07:15 PM

Welcome AV8R, 

 

Cyprinella species, of which Alabamas are one, usually do very well in aquariums. As Bruce said, they love to eat and they love to zip around the aquarium.  I have kept other similar species in a 55 or in a 75... so I think your idea of having a 125 set up as a stream tank is a great idea.  And I think there are some other shiner species that would get along well with the Alabamas. Darters might be more difficult... you will have to overfeed to get the food down to them... but it will be worth it.  You can feed flake first and get the shiners going before you add frozen food for the darters.


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

#5 loopsnj64

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Posted 30 August 2016 - 07:34 PM

I keep Rainbow Shiners (which are also a river dwelling species) in a heavily planted to tank with no current, they dont seem to mind, but im not sure how Alabama Shiners would handle that

Good river fish that I recommend would include
-Banded Killifish (Yes, its an east coast species but I see them in both lakes and swift rivers all the time, while not native to your area they are a VERY hardy fish that accepts flake food)
-Madtoms (Several species are found in rivers, while they seem small when first captured, most species easily reach up to 8+ inches and will eat fish they can swallow, easy care but pick tankmates with care)
-Suckers (again I cant specify what species because im not familiar with your area, these algae-eating (but obviously need other food), carp-like fish get pretty big, are hardy, and very entertaining to watch as they constantly search for food)


While  most people dont put plants in river-based tanks, one that looks impressive flowing in the current is Vallisneria, AKA eelgrass/tapegrass, they would need plant gravel in the area they are planted in, but they get absolutely massive, and assuming you dont choose to get suckers (which probally will eat them), they are one plant that wouldnt look out of place in a river habitat


"All good things must come to an end, but bad things think thats rather dull, so they stick around long after their natural end has come"

-From an art book I read


#6 JasonL

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Posted 30 August 2016 - 08:22 PM

OP I have a similar size tank and setup as you are suggesting and I would suggest 4-5 topminnows as well. Many are native to your state and are fairly easily obtainable from local waters. They have good color patterns and mine are not aggressive and provide interest at the surface. Love the current too.

As an aside, shadow bass are pretty cool but I wonder if your darters might be at risk over time with this and your sculpins around. Unless you are referring to logperch.

#7 AV8R

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Posted 01 September 2016 - 11:13 AM

Thanks for the welcome! I've set the 125 up and in the process of cycling it. I am going to add a large power head to increase the flow. I have a 55 gallon sump tank and the return pump is powerful but I don't think it will be enough. I want to recreate their environment as accurately as possible.
The shadow bass is really small, only a couple of inches and he keeps to himself. The sculpins are a pretty small as well. I plan on releasing them when they get large enough to eat their tankmates. I've been feeding my fish frozen blood worms and it's like a frenzy. The darters and sculpin come to the front glass in the mornings and watch me waiting to be fed. They are really cool fish!
Top minnows are among the species I'd love to add but the only thing I've found so far are mosquito fish. I'd also love to add southern red belly dace, rainbow shiners, and a madtom or two. I haven't been able to find any of these species in my local stream but I hope to find more collecting spots soon.
I have some jungle val and dwarf sag in my other planted tanks, I was thinking about adding a few. I would like to try and keep it as accurate as possible. I have used a product called Safe-T-sorb in the past as a substrate and it works really well. I put about an inch of it under the gravel and the plants do fine. The lighting I'm using are for planted tanks as well so it should do good.

#8 Michael Wolfe

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  • North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 01 September 2016 - 06:06 PM

Please please don't ever release a fish that you have kept in an aquarium. There are lots of other threads here and several people that can jump in here and explain. But I will just say that it is a bad idea for everyone involved.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

#9 fundulus

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Posted 01 September 2016 - 07:22 PM

I would also urge people to carefully consider keeping suckers. They have very particular food habits, not just what they eat but how they find it, and will typically waste away in captivity.
Bruce Stallsmith, Huntsville, Alabama, US of A



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