hey, i was directed here from aquaria central and it looks like my kind of forum. there are plenty of beautiful fish where i live. still looking for lined topminnows and a male least killifish
hello from sunny florida
Started by
Guest_cam191919_*
, Jun 05 2008 12:21 PM
3 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_Newt_*
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Posted 05 June 2008 - 08:22 PM
Welcome, cam191919! I'm Notophthalmus on AC. Good to see you here!
Please edit your user profile to indicate where you live; it simplifies things when discussing possible fish IDs, putting together collecting expeditions, and so on.
Please edit your user profile to indicate where you live; it simplifies things when discussing possible fish IDs, putting together collecting expeditions, and so on.
#3
Guest_Doug_Dame_*
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Posted 13 June 2008 - 02:31 AM
There is a trick to catching male Heters and it is this ..... use a std indoor aquarium net. With regular outdoor nets, even a 1/16" mesh will barely slow down most male Heters as they escape back to the water.... still looking for ... a male least killifish
Guaranteed that 2 of the 3 roadside ditches nearest to your house with standing water / aquatic plants will have Heter. It's a surprise when you DON'T get them.
Gently sweep through the vegetation in water 3" to 12" deep. Throw out all fish over 1/2", because that's as large as male Heters get. You're looking for gold/golden brown fishlettes with a black side band, 8-10 very thin vertical black lines, and a black spot and usually some red on the dorsal fin. (Gambusia: silver/gray/bluish, no hint of any gold/brown/yellow coloration.) If there's a rounded white area that makes you say, "Ah, that's the belly" ... that's a female. Males are torpedo shaped with very little belly bulge. And a gonopodium, if your eyes are better than mine.
Lined topminnows are less common. I don't know the Sarasota area very well and don't know any specific locations there. Check out ponds and lakes with some vegetation and lily pads around the edges. They're top-water fish, they'll be in the open areas or cruising the edges of the vegetation, often in pairs. Adults are bigger than gambusia (which will also be there on the surface in large numbers), have a greeny-yellowish tint (as opposed to the gambusian silver/gray/blue), and the spot on the top of the head is very distinctive. They're quick, esp. the big ones, so catching them is fun.
(Near you: Myaka River State Park and that area is an excellent and favorite location for super flagfish, F. chrysotus, etc. And brown hoplo cats and tilapia if you're in an exotics removal kind of mood. Be aware of your surroundings though, there are gators. Worth a trip. The Tampa/St Pete/Sarasota/centric Suncoast Killifish Society's outdoor expeditionary NANFA section makes a group pilgrimage to Myaka most years.)
HTH and good luck.
d.d.
Edited by Doug_Dame, 13 June 2008 - 02:33 AM.
#4
Michael Wolfe
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Posted 13 June 2008 - 11:54 AM
Post above edited for emphasis... and to further decode... they are fast as lightning and you see 10 for everyone that you can slap and sweep with a long handled net... good luckLined topminnows...
They're quick, esp. the big ones, so catching them is fun.
good luck.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
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