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New Tank Stocking Advice


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#1 loulew28

loulew28
  • NANFA Guest

Posted 13 September 2016 - 06:14 PM

Hi,

I joined today in hopes of getting advice on setting up a 75 gallon aquarium to possibly be stocked with native fish. I am not new to fish keeping but have never tried native fish. Right now I have 5 nano tanks stocked with a variety of nano fish. I currently culture micro, walter, and banana worms as well as vinegar eels for the fish that I have. I also am going to give culturing daphnia a try and order fresh bloodworms, copeopods, ect. as needed. I also feed some frozen foods as well if going on vacation.

 

The tank will have SL Aqua soil as substrate, will be well planted, driftwood, possibly some rock and I am open to having blackwater if needed for the fish I choose. I have a small list started of fish I am interested in that I found online for ordering. At this point I don't plan on going out and collecting wild fish as I don't feel I have the experience yet to make sure that they have the best chance of survival. Here is the list and any and all advice, suggestions, education is very welcome.

 

Banded Pygmy Sunfish

Bluefin Killi

Brown Darter

Everglades Pygmy Sunfish

Florida Flagfish

Golden Topminnow

Least Killifish

Lined Topminnow

Okefenokee Pygmy Sunfish

Orangethroat Darter

 

I would like to have activity at all levels of the tank so suggestions on stocking for that goal would be appreciated as well as the minimum number of each species so that they will feel comfortable in the tank and not hide.

 

Thank you all in advance, I look forward to learning about our native species.

Amy



#2 littlen

littlen
  • NANFA Member
  • Washington, D.C.

Posted 14 September 2016 - 09:07 AM

All very cool choices, that should do very well for you in captivity.  

However, despite their relative docile nature, they won't all do well together as the larger fish will quickly out-compete the smaller ones.

I'll let the pygmy sunfish fanatics chime in more, but they usually do much better on their own/in species-only tanks--especially if you want them to breed.  With your live food cultures, you'll have no problem accomplishing that.

The larger fish, darters, topminnows will do fine together.

I've had Bluefin and Least killifish together.  The biggest problem was that there was very little survival of newborn Least as the larger Blues would hunt them.  But both pretty peaceful species.


Nick L.

#3 loulew28

loulew28
  • NANFA Guest

Posted 14 September 2016 - 12:23 PM

Nick,

Thank you so much for the information. Just to be clear since I am not at all familiar with any of the fish listed above other then what I have read on here I could put any of the above fish in a tank together except for pygmy sunfish? Or would I need to choose only one type of darter, one killifish, and one topminnow? Does the flagfish need to be in a species only tank?

 

I apologize for all of the questions but I really want to understand before I set up a tank just to have a lot of loss of fish.

 

I live in central Iowa and there are not many lakes near me or rivers for that matter although I am going to go to the couple that I know of now and just see what is in them even though I won't bring anything home at this point. This site has inspired me and now I want to know what is around me locally.

 

Thank you again,

Amy



#4 Michael Wolfe

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

Posted 14 September 2016 - 07:56 PM

I love that talk about local fishes... you have some good ones up there... and if you are in Iowa, you are are not too far from Ken Glakin!

 

I'll bet he could tell you a lot about how to turn that 75 into a nice darter tank!

 

And check out FishMap... at the top of this page... you click there and put in your zip code and it will tell you what fishes are in your local drainage... now that is the way to build a tank!


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

#5 littlen

littlen
  • NANFA Member
  • Washington, D.C.

Posted 15 September 2016 - 12:31 PM

Amy,

 

Darters of different species/genus, do very well together.  Some are much more shy than others, but overall aggression will not be a problem.  Browns and Orangethroats should not be an issue living on the bottom together.  But I will say I've never kept either.  Also, since they inhabit the bottom of the tank, having a bunch of topminnows (which utilize the mid and upper water column) will make for a nice display.  
 

 

There are literally, hundreds of pages of information about keeping pygmy sunfish on this forum.  Please do a search for that.  I would keep them in a species only tank.  You CAN mix them with some other fish, but generally isn't ideal for being able to see them frequently as they'll stay clear of other fish.  Keep in mind, pygmy sunfish are short lived, eat tiny food items, and easily out competed.  They are very reclusive, even if kept in a species only tank.  They also do a lot better in heavily planted tanks.  

 

Flagfish do well in a community tank.  They'd be ok with other species of topminnows, and/or darters.  However, habitat preference is different for a lot of these species and something you may want to consider.  A lot of us on the forum like to set up habitat-specific tanks and include species found in that particular environment.  Such as an unheated or chilled tank with a lot of flow for darters which duplicates a swift flowing mountain stream.

Flagfish and some topminnows are in backwater areas with much less flow and at times, warmer water.  Pygmy sunfish in heavily planted areas as I mentioned earlier.

You have come to the right place to gather a lot of information on what species you want to keep and how to keep them.  I commend you for inquiring information first rather than already having the fish and asking us, "how do I take care of this!?!"


Nick L.

#6 Michael Wolfe

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

Posted 15 September 2016 - 07:13 PM

I have kept and collected brown darters and they do very well in slack water... very much like swamp darters in my opinion.  They would do well with topminnows or with flagfish.  


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

#7 itsme

itsme
  • NANFA Member

Posted 22 September 2016 - 02:24 PM

If you really want the Elassoma in there, I'd eliminate the Flagfish, chrysotus and lineolatus.  They can all be a bit aggressive.  In a tank that size, with dense plantings, it might work, but it's risky for the Pygmies.  If you do the Pygmies you could add Leptolucania ommata (very cool!) and Swamp Darters.  Actually you can do stream darters too, as long as you maintain good aeration.  They don't need fast water as long as there is sufficient oxygen.  Pteronotropis shiners would be a good addition too.  If you decide to do the larger Killies, Enneacanthus Sunfishes are great.  You could also add Suckers, since they generally are very peaceful and easy on tankmates.



#8 Doug_Dame

Doug_Dame
  • NANFA Member

Posted 22 September 2016 - 10:48 PM

I have not kept Elassoma and darters together. But I have had a mixed community tank that included various minnows, darters, and Heterandria formosa, which is about the same size as Elassoma. Even the "stream darters" that in the wild I have not caught near vegetation (e.g., redlines, fantails) quickly learned to sit in the dense vegetation near the surface, looking/hunting for baby Heter. Therefore I would not put swamp darters in with Elassoma, if you want to enjoy breeding and baby fish and all that stuff. 

 

Basically Elassoma need to be kept only with fish of their own size, both to ensure their safety and to make sure they have a decent chance to get to food. 

 

Personally, I'd use a 75 for bigger or faster water fish, and put Elassoma in a densely planted species tank, a 10 or a 20L. 


Doug Dame

Floridian now back in Florida
 


#9 itsme

itsme
  • NANFA Member

Posted 23 September 2016 - 10:47 AM

Be unconventional.  Try something different and let us know what happens.





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