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#1 Guest_mette_*

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Posted 30 December 2007 - 07:25 PM

Hey NANFA forum,

I'm Jeff Mette from Chapel Hill. I've been keeping aquariums for a while now, but only recently started in seriously with natives. The forum has been a big help. If any of the local members are interested helping me scare up some swamp darters for my 75, the waders and nets are in the car. I also have some South American stuff posted in the trading dock. Thanks for reading!

#2 Guest_fishlvr_*

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Posted 30 December 2007 - 08:43 PM

Hey NANFA forum,

I'm Jeff Mette from Chapel Hill. I've been keeping aquariums for a while now, but only recently started in seriously with natives. The forum has been a big help. If any of the local members are interested helping me scare up some swamp darters for my 75, the waders and nets are in the car. I also have some South American stuff posted in the trading dock. Thanks for reading!


Welcome to the forum!

#3 Guest_mette_*

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Posted 30 December 2007 - 08:45 PM

Welcome to the forum!

Thanks, Steve!

#4 Guest_fishlvr_*

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Posted 30 December 2007 - 08:50 PM

Thanks, Steve!


What natives do you currently have, if any yet? Just curious.

#5 Guest_mette_*

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Posted 30 December 2007 - 08:57 PM

What natives do you currently have, if any yet? Just curious.

Blackbanded and bluespotted sunfish, lined topminnows, and plenty of Gambusia. A friend has offered me some of his Elassoma zonatum for another tank I have in the works, but I'm thinking about doing something with darters and shiners instead. I'm also trying to cut back - get away from having a tank on every shelf and table - but it's not easy.

#6 Guest_fishlvr_*

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Posted 30 December 2007 - 09:04 PM

Blackbanded and bluespotted sunfish, lined topminnows, and plenty of Gambusia. A friend has offered me some of his Elassoma zonatum for another tank I have in the works, but I'm thinking about doing something with darters and shiners instead. I'm also trying to cut back - get away from having a tank on every shelf and table - but it's not easy.


Haha. Yeah I know what you mean. I have at least one tank on every desktop in my house. Bluespotted sunfisha are some beautiful fish, and so are blackbandeds. I'm not a big minnow person, so I won't really be able to answer any questions you have about them. I'm more of the sunfish type. All of my tanks are pretty much occupied by some type of Centrarchid, and I have several containers outside with sunfish. I might make room for a stream tank sooner or later. I've thought about trying one with bluehead chubs and yellowfin shiners and trying to breed them. Bluehead chubs build nests and yellowfin shiners dart in and lay their eggs in them. It's an interesting sight to watch in the summer. I walked out to the creek in my backyard and saw the rush of red fish with bright yellow fins swarming over a chub nest. It's absolutely spectacular.

#7 Guest_mette_*

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Posted 30 December 2007 - 09:19 PM

Haha. Yeah I know what you mean. I have at least one tank on every desktop in my house. Bluespotted sunfisha are some beautiful fish, and so are blackbandeds. I'm not a big minnow person, so I won't really be able to answer any questions you have about them. I'm more of the sunfish type. All of my tanks are pretty much occupied by some type of Centrarchid, and I have several containers outside with sunfish. I might make room for a stream tank sooner or later. I've thought about trying one with bluehead chubs and yellowfin shiners and trying to breed them. Bluehead chubs build nests and yellowfin shiners dart in and lay their eggs in them. It's an interesting sight to watch in the summer. I walked out to the creek in my backyard and saw the rush of red fish with bright yellow fins swarming over a chub nest. It's absolutely spectacular.

It's especially hard not to overdo it with a collection when you can just walk out back and scoop things up, but I think I'm going to try and leave most things in the stream in order to concentrate on a couple of tanks. A nest-host/nest-parasite community would make a pretty cool tank, but it makes good fish-watching, too.

#8 Guest_fishlvr_*

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Posted 30 December 2007 - 09:26 PM

It's especially hard not to overdo it with a collection when you can just walk out back and scoop things up, but I think I'm going to try and leave most things in the stream in order to concentrate on a couple of tanks. A nest-host/nest-parasite community would make a pretty cool tank, but it makes good fish-watching, too.


Yeah. I have to force myself to put stuff back that gets too big or I don't have anywhere to put it. Especially fish as beautiful as the yellowfin shiners. Normally if I catch the chubs I just use them for treats for my warmouth.

#9 Guest_viridari_*

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Posted 30 December 2007 - 10:17 PM

We'll have to get out sometime in the spring. I live out in north Raleigh. But I know of a neat little collection site in Hillsborough. Maybe a couple. :) I used to live out that way and loved going out in the Eno river with my dipnet.

#10 Guest_octavio_*

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Posted 30 December 2007 - 11:18 PM

We'll have to get out sometime in the spring. I live out in north Raleigh. But I know of a neat little collection site in Hillsborough. Maybe a couple. :) I used to live out that way and loved going out in the Eno river with my dipnet.

Welcome to the Forum Mette .I am also new here, I love sunfish and hope to get some blackbanded sunfish in the future.

#11 Guest_uniseine_*

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Posted 31 December 2007 - 06:13 PM

Hey NANFA forum,

I'm Jeff Mette from Chapel Hill. I've been keeping aquariums for a while now, but only recently started in seriously with natives. The forum has been a big help. If any of the local members are interested helping me scare up some swamp darters for my 75, the waders and nets are in the car. I also have some South American stuff posted in the trading dock. Thanks for reading!


RAQ usually has some collecting with their workshop.

http://raleighaquari...y.org/main.html

"Please join The Raleigh Aquarium Society for our 24th Annual Workshop and auction to be held on February 29th, March 1st, and 2nd, 2008 at the NC State University Centennial Campus, Engineering Building 1, 911 Partner's Way, Raleigh, NC 27606 (please note the new location)."

#12 Michael Wolfe

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Posted 01 January 2008 - 10:11 AM

Welcome,

Glad to see that there is another person here that appreciates minnows and chubs... I have to agree with Steve that bluehead chubs and yellowfin shiners are a spectacular site... I have both in tanks right now and really enjoy them at home as well as in the field.

As far as swamp darters, keep an eye open at your Local Fish Store in the feeder shrimp tank or even sometimes the feeded fish... I have 'collected' inch long darter looking htings that came home and grew up to be nice swamp darters... an under appreciated fish, very personable, very hungry, always ready to come to the front glass even for flake food, and perch like ther darters, but seem to do so very often on the plant leaves.

Hey NANFA forum,

I'm Jeff Mette from Chapel Hill. I've been keeping aquariums for a while now, but only recently started in seriously with natives. The forum has been a big help. If any of the local members are interested helping me scare up some swamp darters for my 75, the waders and nets are in the car. I also have some South American stuff posted in the trading dock. Thanks for reading!


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

#13 Guest_mette_*

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Posted 01 January 2008 - 11:10 PM

Welcome to the Forum Mette .I am also new here, I love sunfish and hope to get some blackbanded sunfish in the future.

Thanks, Octavio. I'm keeping BBSF and really enjoying it. I was expecting delicate, shy, picky eaters, but they have been entirely the opposite, even in my brightly lit aquarium.

#14 Guest_mette_*

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Posted 01 January 2008 - 11:15 PM

We'll have to get out sometime in the spring. I live out in north Raleigh. But I know of a neat little collection site in Hillsborough. Maybe a couple. :) I used to live out that way and loved going out in the Eno river with my dipnet.

Sounds great. There are actually several places in northern Orange County I have my eye on - Spring may be too long a wait for me.

#15 Guest_mette_*

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Posted 01 January 2008 - 11:25 PM

Welcome,

Glad to see that there is another person here that appreciates minnows and chubs... I have to agree with Steve that bluehead chubs and yellowfin shiners are a spectacular site... I have both in tanks right now and really enjoy them at home as well as in the field.

As far as swamp darters, keep an eye open at your Local Fish Store in the feeder shrimp tank or even sometimes the feeded fish... I have 'collected' inch long darter looking htings that came home and grew up to be nice swamp darters... an under appreciated fish, very personable, very hungry, always ready to come to the front glass even for flake food, and perch like ther darters, but seem to do so very often on the plant leaves.

Thanks for the welcome, Michael.

I do keep an eye on the LFS for odds and ends that I can't easily collect - but if I find swamp darters at the store I'll need a new reason to go to the swamp. In your experience, do swamp darters need a covered aquarium - will they jump out?

I think a stream setup is going to have to be the next order of business. How big are the tanks you use for keeping chubs?

#16 Guest_viridari_*

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Posted 01 January 2008 - 11:44 PM

Sounds great. There are actually several places in northern Orange County I have my eye on - Spring may be too long a wait for me.


Oh BTW, I have a canoe with a shallow draft... good for getting into remote marshy areas that are inaccessible by land. I don't have two floatation devices, unfortunately (mandatory in NC for everyone in a boat to have one) but if you have a floatation device, we can get out into some new areas with that sometime.

I'm setting up my fish room so I doubt I'll be out collecting until I have some tanks set up.

#17 Michael Wolfe

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Posted 02 January 2008 - 09:33 AM

I'm always up for a good trip to the swamp... don't need much of an excuse...

No, darters in general do not jump much (unlike nearly every other native, which do seem to occasionally attack the up stream flow and jump) and swamps tend to avoid high flow in general (not that they are skitish or anything, just prefer the slow flow) so they do not swim at the pwer heads.

The chubs I have kept and now keep have been in my 75 (normal size 48 x 18 by however tall it is)... and they get to 6 inches pretty quickly and then grow somewhat more slowly towards 8 inches or so... great fish (a little shy at times, but still great)!

I do keep an eye on the LFS for odds and ends that I can't easily collect - but if I find swamp darters at the store I'll need a new reason to go to the swamp. In your experience, do swamp darters need a covered aquarium - will they jump out?

I think a stream setup is going to have to be the next order of business. How big are the tanks you use for keeping chubs?


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

#18 Guest_gerald_*

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Posted 04 January 2008 - 04:09 PM

Hi Mette - our Feb 29 trip with Raleigh Aquar Soc we'll probably head to Rhodes Pond near Dunn - good for blackband & bluespots, pygmy sun, sawcheek darter, pirateperch, mudminnow, lined killie, etc and then to some Neuse tribs near Raleigh where we oughta get roanoke & tesselated darter, bluehead chub, speckled killie, swallowtail, pinewoods, satinfin, highfin, white shiners ... hope you can come. we'll leave from NCSU centennial campus at 12:30.
Gerald

#19 Guest_mette_*

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Posted 09 January 2008 - 09:44 PM

Hi Mette - our Feb 29 trip with Raleigh Aquar Soc we'll probably head to Rhodes Pond near Dunn - good for blackband & bluespots, pygmy sun, sawcheek darter, pirateperch, mudminnow, lined killie, etc and then to some Neuse tribs near Raleigh where we oughta get roanoke & tesselated darter, bluehead chub, speckled killie, swallowtail, pinewoods, satinfin, highfin, white shiners ... hope you can come. we'll leave from NCSU centennial campus at 12:30.
Gerald

Thanks for the invite, Gerald. I missed the trip last year but had a great time at the auction. I'll drop you an email to RSVP.

I'm always up for a good trip to the swamp... don't need much of an excuse...

Awesome. With this warm weather I have been going out to Duke Forest and the Eno pretty regular. Maybe I'll start a thread in the South regional forum to try and get some folks together.

Oh BTW, I have a canoe with a shallow draft... good for getting into remote marshy areas that are inaccessible by land. I don't have two floatation devices, unfortunately (mandatory in NC for everyone in a boat to have one) but if you have a floatation device, we can get out into some new areas with that sometime.

Sounds great. I have access to a PFD and fish with a friend who has a canoe. Do you have any sites in mind?

#20 Guest_viridari_*

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Posted 09 January 2008 - 09:55 PM

Maybe I'll start a thread in the South regional forum to try and get some folks together.


I'm short a dipnet right now but otherwise would love to do something like that.

I have a 55 gallon "pond/swamp/bog tank" that is just about ready for some fish & plants now. Doing a water change on it right now, as a matter of fact.



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