Brook Sticklebacks

Well, my little brother went netting today for fun, and before he left i told him to keep any small fatheads to feed our outher aquarium fish. He came home with some fatheads, but alot of sticklebacks. Some have spots, and some have a tiger pattern, but i think they are both brook sticklebacks. Now that I cant release them, i guess I have to keep them. So can anybody school me on these? And could they be kept in my tropical fish tank that stays around 80 degrees? they are in a 10g "feeder" tank right now that stays at room temp that usually houses gambusia. i like the little buggers, but i tried putting one in my heated aquarium(wthout acclimation) and it had a siezure and my bichir grabbed a hold of it, so i took it out right away and put it back in the room temp aquarium, and it suprisingly did fine again. also, if kept the feeder tank that is bare bottom, will they get stressed out and get ich or other disease? are they highly prone to disease when not in fast moving water? and should i throw a maxi 900 power head(250gph) in there? current filtration in there is just a sponge filter. thanks! andif anyone in mn wants some, pm me

I can tell you for certain that they will not do well at higher temps. They will be prone to bacterial problems. I can also tell you that they are the spawn of satan. Meanest little fish on the planet.

Well, my little brother went netting today for fun, and before he left i told him to keep any small fatheads to feed our outher aquarium fish. He came home with some fatheads, but alot of sticklebacks. Some have spots, and some have a tiger pattern, but i think they are both brook sticklebacks. Now that I cant release them, i guess I have to keep them. thanks! andif anyone in mn wants some, pm me

Hi wonword,

Sounds like you wound up with a bunch of fish that you're really not prepared to keep. I'd offer to give them away in the Trading Dock: http://forum.nanfa.o...php?showforum=7

You'll likely save the fish's lives, and you'll build some positive karma with other Forum members in case you want to get something in trade later on!

Cheers, Jase

He came home with some fatheads, but alot of sticklebacks. Some have spots, and some have a tiger pattern, but i think they are both brook sticklebacks. Now that I cant release them, i guess I have to keep them. So can anybody school me on these?

By the way, kudos for knowing that you shouldn't / can't release these fish once you've brought them home. Many "newbies" wouldn't know that. Cheers, Jase

Edited by jase, 06 April 2008 - 08:01 AM.

thanks for the info guys! figures they cant be kept in higher temps, they are very beautiful fish. i will also put them in the trading dock! problem is, i dont want to ship! so if anybody in MN wants them, i live in the TC. Anybody know why some are spotted and some are striped? A couple of them have actually been eating red flake food, and it seems I have a preg. female. Thanks,
John

Try to get some pictures and post them in the id section, I have a feeling you may have 2 species considering how far north you are. I'll also second skipjack on how nasty these guys can be toward each other and other fish of similar size and even larger. They really like to bite fins and are very territorial.

thanks for the info guys! figures they cant be kept in higher temps, they are very beautiful fish. i will also put them in the trading dock! problem is, i dont want to ship! so if anybody in MN wants them, i live in the TC. Anybody know why some are spotted and some are striped? A couple of them have actually been eating red flake food, and it seems I have a preg. female. Thanks,
John

It's standard procedure for folks to pay your shipping/packaging costs (maybe even plus a couple bucks for your time) if you ship them. Breather bags would be best, but putting a single fish each in some standard fish store bags with plenty of airspace would be fine. You'd also want to stop feeding the fish for several days before mailing them, to reduce the amount of waste they'll excrete while in transit. Fish can live for quite a while without food.

Cheers, Jase

brook sticklebacks will bite the fins on other fishes and shred them so u should pick tank mates very carefully

brook sticklebacks will bite the fins on other fishes and shred them so u should pick tank mates very carefully

Have you keep brook sticklebacks before? If not then how you know that they will nipping other fishes' fins?

no but i have heard it from many people and sites