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Missouri Central Longears

Started by Guest_rick_* , Oct 02 2008 01:30 PM

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37 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_rick_*

Guests

Posted 02 October 2008 - 01:30 PM

Just received a shipment of juvie Missouri Central Longears from Zimmerman's. All arrived alive and healthy and there were extras in the shipment. One of the best packing jobs I've seen on a fish shipment. Good communication from Brian and I would heartily recommend Zimmerman's fish to others interested in acquiring native fish species. Thanks Brian.

Rick

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#2 Guest_mdwalt1_*

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Posted 17 October 2008 - 01:17 PM

I, too, ordered some Longears from Brian and just got them in last night. I've got to say that dealing with Brian was a most pleasurable experience. He was very communicative & responsive and provided helpful information to ensure that the transaction and relocation of the fish was successful in all respects. I highly recommend Zimmerman's and will definitely do business with Brian again.

The packaging was top notch and secure...
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Brian's acclimation instructions were perfect...
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The 5 fish are now in their new home and are happily swimming around...
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Here's a shot of the entire 30g universe they now call home... (minus the Firemouth)
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Thanks Brian!!

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#3 Guest_rick_*

Guests

Posted 25 October 2008 - 08:24 AM

Happy to report that my Central Longears from Brian are all still fat and happy and are noticeably larger in less than a month on frozen bloodworms, HBH supesoft, and crushed TetraJumbo Cichlid sticks. Will get photos soon.

Rick

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#4 Guest_rick_*

Guests

Posted 24 December 2008 - 04:09 PM

Here is an update on the Missouri Central Longears I got from Brian back in October. Word is they are all fat and sassy. One individual is a mega-megalotis compared to the rest of this bunch. I'm pretty sure when I talked to Brian about these fish that he told me they were all from an Aug 15 hatch. If this fish is showing this much color at this age...imagine what it's gonna look like in a year! All the fish except this one monster are about the same size (appx. 1.50"). They feed like pigs on tetracichlid jumbo stix (crushed), HBH SuperSoft, and frozen bloodworms. Sorry for the poor quality pics, but it's time for some Xmas food! Happy Holidays to all.

Rick

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#5 Guest_centrarchid_*

Guests

Posted 24 December 2008 - 04:48 PM

I think those are the grand children of my fish? If they start nesting soon, tell me what you see.

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#6 Guest_rick_*

Guests

Posted 24 December 2008 - 04:57 PM

Sure thing. Have you seen this kind of size disparity in broods of longears before? I mean, this one fish is probably three times the size of the others, and they all seem to be getting plenty to eat.

Rick

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#7 Guest_centrarchid_*

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Posted 24 December 2008 - 05:18 PM

Sure thing. Have you seen this kind of size disparity in broods of longears before? I mean, this one fish is probably three times the size of the others, and they all seem to be getting plenty to eat.

Rick

Yes, sometimes it is due to genetics, sometimes nutrition during the larval and early fry stages. Disparity in size maintaned even when food not limiting thereafter. Smaller fish can catch up when larger animals atart reproducing.

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#8 Guest_smbass_*

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Posted 28 December 2008 - 10:14 PM

centrarchid you are correct that these are descendants of the fish you originally sent me. I kept 14 young for myself and they are in two separate tanks. Some are being kept by my father in-law and are being kept at a significantly warmer temperature and are all twice the size of the 7 I have in my basement. I don't think any of them are as big as that one you have though Rick, looks like your feeding them well. I hope to make these fish available once again next year because they sold out very quickly. They were all from a spawn in mid august. it is possible that they were not all hatched on the exact same day because there were 2 females in the pond and just one male. I put them in the pond around the 5th of august and removed them shortly after finding the free swimming fry around the 20th. The 15th is my guess on when they actually hatched.

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#9 Guest_rick_*

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Posted 03 March 2009 - 06:39 PM

Latest update on the Missouri Central Longears I bought from Brian in October. They are still all fat and happy. There is a huge range in terms of size, the largest male probably being three times as long and maybe four or five times the mass of the smallest fish. Hatched in August, I'm pretty confident at least the two biggest males will be breeding size by this summer. Beautiful fish and getting better looking all the time.

Rick

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#10 Guest_sandtiger_*

Guests

Posted 03 March 2009 - 07:35 PM

Beautiful fish, very tall bodied. The diversity in longears is amazing. My Central looks nothing like that, mine isn't from Brian though.

Edited by sandtiger, 03 March 2009 - 07:35 PM.

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#11 Guest_rick_*

Guests

Posted 03 March 2009 - 08:20 PM

Beautiful fish, very tall bodied. The diversity in longears is amazing. My Central looks nothing like that, mine isn't from Brian though.

Yes, they are extremely variable both in body shape, size, and coloration. We have some pretty nice looking longears in some parts of Tennessee, but those I've seen from northeast Tennessee never have this much red....ours have more blues and greens, and I've never seen young individuals that were this tall and full bodied. Of course, I keep 'em stuffed most of the time!

Rick

Edited by rick, 03 March 2009 - 08:22 PM.

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#12 Guest_centrarchid_*

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Posted 03 March 2009 - 08:23 PM

Hatched in August, I'm pretty confident at least the two biggest males will be breeding size by this summer.

They are breeding size now. Give them a shot to prove it.

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#13 Guest_panfisherteen_*

Guests

Posted 03 March 2009 - 09:35 PM

man, those guys are why I want to start getting natives as pets, because they are BEAUTIFUL :biggrin:

Those are some very eye catching longears, if those are that colorful now, i wonder how colorful they'll get while on the spawn?

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#14 Guest_rick_*

Guests

Posted 04 March 2009 - 04:30 PM

They are breeding size now. Give them a shot to prove it.

Yep, I agree that at least two of the males are ready to go. The females are much smaller. Might grab a local female in a few weeks and see what happens.

Rick

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#15 Guest_centrarchid_*

Guests

Posted 04 March 2009 - 05:08 PM

Yep, I agree that at least two of the males are ready to go. The females are much smaller. Might grab a local female in a few weeks and see what happens.

Rick

Rick,

Based on the apperent quality of the fish in your image, you could get spawns off in likely no more than a couple days in an aquarium. The female rear left looks good to go now.

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#16 Guest_jjmayr_*

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Posted 19 March 2009 - 09:28 PM

Hey Rick,

I ordered a few Central longears from Brian last October too. I currently have two males in a 46 gallon tank. Are you still feeding your the crushed jumbo sticks? That is what I am feeding mine. Your fish are growing fast, how often do you feed them?

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#17 Guest_nativefish_*

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Posted 22 March 2009 - 08:52 PM

Rick,

Based on the apperent quality of the fish in your image, you could get spawns off in likely no more than a couple days in an aquarium. The female rear left looks good to go now.

Are those elk river drainage longears ? Very nice

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#18 Guest_rick_*

Guests

Posted 23 March 2009 - 07:45 PM

Hey Rick,

I ordered a few Central longears from Brian last October too. I currently have two males in a 46 gallon tank. Are you still feeding your the crushed jumbo sticks? That is what I am feeding mine. Your fish are growing fast, how often do you feed them?

I am feeding them a mix of things. Crushed jumbo sticks, HBH Softbites, Spirulina Flakes, frozen bloodworms, and chopped earthworms when I run across them. I normally feed them at least twice each day.

Rick

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#19 Guest_rick_*

Guests

Posted 23 March 2009 - 07:49 PM

Are those elk river drainage longears ? Very nice

I don't remember right off the top of my head, but Brian or Centrarchid could probably tell you. I'm going to wait until this summer to try breeding because right now I have sunfish everywhere: living room, bedroom, laundry room, and two tanks at the school where I teach. All longears or western dollars.

Rick