Hello everyone!

My name is Marco and I am from Canada.

I currently keep tropical fish, but I have developed an interest in learning about fish that are from waters in the continent that I live in. I feel it only makes sense.

All too often fish stores and pet stores all have fish for sale from Africa, Asia, South America, Central America. Heck, one could probably also see fish from Europe before they would ever see a North American fish for sale! (with the excpetion of maybe American Flag Fish or Rosy Red/Fathead Minnows). Now, I understand that since we are in North America, having fish for sale that are native to our continent may not seem "exotic" enough to some people.

However, to anyone who may use such an argument, you would have to wonder if they had even a slight clue as to what is living in the waters of North America. In fact, some sunfish species for example, could probably have colour patterns that would "rival" certain cichlids.

It would also be interesting to see more fish from North America hit the markets not just within the same continent but even internationally as well, because I see them as being just like any other fish. They have certain water requirements, they have temperaments towards other fish, they have breeding methods/antics and it would really open up the door of the fish hobby when it comes to more variety/selection for people who are looking for fish to select for their aquariums. Even further scientific research can be done which I am sure NANFA does already. There wouldn't be such an intense worry of contracting diseases like the risk one may take when collecting fish from the wild and trying to domesticate them in an aquarium. Now, of course, I realize that if demand for captive bred specimens gets high enough that there may be a risk of endangering species or making them extinct and thus, I respect conservation efforts by anyone whether it's a group like NANFA or any individual.

Thus, I am delighted to find a forum/website dedicated to fish native to North America.

The reason why I joined this forum was because I wanted to learn more about native fish before I venture out with fishing gear and say to myself "uh oh, what do I do?" or "what did I just get myself into?". I do live in Canada, and I realize that there are many fish around, but it's just a matter of seeing what's out there and taking the right steps to ensure that the well-being of those species are taken to heart.

I look forward to browsing, learning and posting whenever I can.

Marco

Marco,

We're delighted to have you here. Welcome to NANFA and our forum. Let us know if you have any questions.

Good to have you! I know that in Europe, aquarists are able to purchase red shiners in pet shops. There are undoubtedly a lot of NANF's being sold overseas, just not hereabouts.

Today I saw red shiners for $8.99 apiece at my LFS in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Nice looking fish.