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Can Silversides be kept...

Started by Guest_andyavram_* , Dec 28 2007 04:55 PM

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13 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_andyavram_*

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Posted 28 December 2007 - 04:55 PM

When I was younger I always loved the look of Brook Silversides (still have never seen one) and figured whenever I set up a native tank I would try my darndest to get some. I hear occasional blurbs about how sensitive they are but I haven't actually heard of anyone keeping any, or even attempting it.

So, can it be done? Does anyone have any? If you do have any have you kept them long term?

Thanks,
Andy

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#2 Guest_fishlvr_*

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Posted 28 December 2007 - 04:58 PM

When I was younger I always loved the look of Brook Silversides (still have never seen one) and figured whenever I set up a native tank I would try my darndest to get some. I hear occasional blurbs about how sensitive they are but I haven't actually heard of anyone keeping any, or even attempting it.

So, can it be done? Does anyone have any? If you do have any have you kept them long term?

Thanks,
Andy

They're extremely sensitive when in transport. Stress Coat or salt both help while they're in the bucket. After they're in a tank and acclimated they become pretty hardy additions. I know of a few people who have kept them, but there aren't many.

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#3 Guest_mikez_*

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Posted 28 December 2007 - 06:16 PM

I've never tried brook silversides but I've tried the inshore and atlantic silversides [brackish and marine] a few times. Something I'll never do again. If you really baby them, don't remove from the water, don't over crowd in collecting bucket, aerate the bucket, cool the bucket, rush 'em home ASAP etc, you can get maybe 25% to 50% into your tank alive. Of those, maybe half will survive the first week and take to flake food and settle down and seem out of the woods. Then one day you sneeze near the tank and they all come down with a screaming case of ich which promptly infects all the fish in the tank. #-o

The New England Aquarium had some in a brackish display with mummichugs and striped killies and they were fungused and emaciated - something you NEVER see in that excellent insititution.

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#4 Guest_uniseine_*

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Posted 28 December 2007 - 09:42 PM

I got 80% home and eating flake food.
Catch Silversides when it is cold.

see http://forum.nanfa.o...h...ost&p=22049

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#5 Guest_mikez_*

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Posted 29 December 2007 - 09:18 AM

I got 80% home and eating flake food.
Catch Silversides when it is cold.

see http://forum.nanfa.o...h...ost&p=22049

How long have you had them? Have you had any issues with ich or other nasties in the tank?

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#6 Guest_fishyz_*

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Posted 29 December 2007 - 06:50 PM

I have one in one of my tanks. We lost alot during transport (which we expected). I've heard that if you don't take them out of the water they do better. Once you get them home and in a tank they are pretty hardy.

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#7 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 29 December 2007 - 11:40 PM

Inland silversides are not nearly as fragile as brooks.

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#8 Guest_smbass_*

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 01:47 PM

I'm pretty sure we discussed this before on here some where... Anyways I wanted to see if I could get them to live and really was careful in captureing and transporting and did so durring the cold part of the year. I was surprisingly successful with them and they fed well lived in a planted tank for a couple months then I got tired of them and fed them to something else.

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#9 Guest_ashtonmj_*

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 03:38 PM

I'll second what Brian said. I captured a handful in early March of 2006 in Tennessee by essentially purse seining them. Slowly worked into the bank near within an area of slack water and pinchd the ends against the bank. As we raised the seine slowly I stuck a large glass jar under them and sucked them into the jar. Thus they never touched the netting and a not a singl scale was lost.

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#10 Guest_kureinha_*

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Posted 11 January 2008 - 01:15 PM

Like others have said- if you baby them then you'll do just fine. If your quick and cautious then you'll be fine. I caught actually caught ~10 while home in FL (1.5 yrs ago). Bagged them up and flew them back to Indiana. I had one dead fish by the time I reached home in Bloomington (1 hr away from airport).

Good luck.

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#11 Guest_andyavram_*

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Posted 11 January 2008 - 01:44 PM

Thanks for your replies everyone. I actually found more posts on this topic after looking a little harder. Good to see that with a little extra TLC they can be successfully maintained and if I find anything year I will probably try a few.

Thanks,

Andy

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#12 Guest_bearfog_*

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Posted 17 November 2010 - 12:40 PM

Does anyone know the appropriate food for Inland Silversides? Having to get artemia and gradually reduce their salinity seems like a hassle. What about Mysids?

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#13 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 18 November 2010 - 11:28 PM

They will eat flakes, FBS,FD tubifex, what have you. They are not choosy.

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#14 Guest_ctravis_*

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Posted 28 November 2010 - 09:07 PM

if you want to catch them easy,(brook silversides) go out at night with a flashlight. in my lake they float motionless on the surface. you can grab them with your hands if you want. try transporting them in darkness, might have a better success rate.