Collecting

As a newbie to the collecting side of the hobby just wondering if there are any suggestions about what native livestock does not make good aquarium specimans. I am in northeast PA if that helps. I plan to start up this spring and at this time am trying to decide what to put in the tank. Looking for livestock that would be good for the long haul. I don't want fish that will quickly outgrow the aquarium (75 gallon) or cost a fortune to feed. Any suggestions?

I think the best place to start would be asking a few questions. The most important one is, what interests you?
I see you want to start a 75 gallon so we have a nice bit of room to work with. How do you plan to decorate the tank? Do you plan on accommodating the tank style to suit the natural habitat of the fish? Brackish or fresh water? Do you already have filtration? If so what the approximate flow and what are the rough dimensions of the tank? Sorry to ask so many questions but your tank is large enough to handle all but the larger sport fish down to a community of some of the smaller more peaceful sunfish topminnows and livebearers.

As a newbie to the collecting side of the hobby just wondering if there are any suggestions about what native livestock does not make good aquarium specimans. I am in northeast PA if that helps. I plan to start up this spring and at this time am trying to decide what to put in the tank. Looking for livestock that would be good for the long haul. I don't want fish that will quickly outgrow the aquarium (75 gallon) or cost a fortune to feed. Any suggestions?

For the MOST part, if you stay away from gamefishes you won't have to worry about them outgrowing your tank. For particular recommendations, just look at the type of water your fish come from and ask yourself if your aquarium approximates that habitat. Strong current, stagnant water, mud vs. sand - you get the picture.

I think the best place to start would be asking a few questions. The most important one is, what interests you?
I see you want to start a 75 gallon so we have a nice bit of room to work with. How do you plan to decorate the tank? Do you plan on accommodating the tank style to suit the natural habitat of the fish? Brackish or fresh water? Do you already have filtration? If so what the approximate flow and what are the rough dimensions of the tank? Sorry to ask so many questions but your tank is large enough to handle all but the larger sport fish down to a community of some of the smaller more peaceful sunfish topminnows and livebearers.

I do plan to go planted (natural habitat - several local lakes [Poconos in PA] to get fish and plants after the ice melts {starting to freeze now]). Going freshwater. The tank is from a past reef tank. I will filter with 2- emporer 400s (about 600 -800 GPH). Lighting with a 2 - 65 watt PC fixture. The tank is 48 x 18 x 20. Thinking maybe some sunnies or yellow perch but not sure yet. Any suggestions for local scavengers/tank cleaners?

for a scavenger maybe a madtom species or a sucker, Chubsuckers are nice you may have lake or creek chubsuckers in your area but I am not sure what the extent of their range is. I keep a madtom or 2 in just about every tank I have to clean up uneaten food. Mine are mainly tadpole and brindled madtoms as they are the most common in my area and are slackwater species. I do have a mountain madtom and a stonecat which are stream riffle species.

I just sampled creek chubsuckers and plan on keeping one eventually. They are a pretty colorful fish that won't get too big. Margined or stonecat madtoms would get big enough to keep with the rest. Margined will come out during feeding time. Stonecats most likely won't. If you don't have them near you just put a request in the Trading Dock.

One way to start is to go to http://www.natureser...dHucs/index.jsp and find out what species are in your watershed. This gives you a good idea of what you might bump into. Then, you can look them up in the "Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes : North America North of Mexico (Peterson Field Guides)" to get an idea of how big they can get. I would also recommend "American Aquarium Fishes" by Goldstein, Harper, and Edwards, which is about keeping natives in aquaria. It's a very nice resource.

One way to start is to go to http://www.natureser...dHucs/index.jsp and find out what species are in your watershed.

That is a very nice resource! Thanks for the tip.

Then, you can look them up in the "Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes : North America North of Mexico (Peterson Field Guides)" to get an idea of how big they can get.

I would be careful with the sizes in that one. It seems to report sizes much bigger than most other references I've seen. I admittedly haven't grown any native fish up to full size yet (or mabye I have, and just don't know it yet), having just started this past summer. But I think Peterson's is reporting a theoretical maximum size, like state record holding fish, not typical maximum size.

There is some size information on some fishes you will find in Pennsylvania in "Pennsylvania Fishes", available for $10 delivered from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission here (choose products, then books). There is also some information on the PFBC web page here. Ohio DNR also has some good information on typical fish sizes here. I also like this web page a lot.

That is a very nice resource! Thanks for the tip.
I would be careful with the sizes in that one. It seems to report sizes much bigger than most other references I've seen. I admittedly haven't grown any native fish up to full size yet (or mabye I have, and just don't know it yet), having just started this past summer. But I think Peterson's is reporting a theoretical maximum size, like state record holding fish, not typical maximum size.

I agree, I would love to see a 16" pumpkinseed.

I agree, I would love to see a 16" pumpkinseed.

Hybrid vigor

I agree, I would love to see a 16" pumpkinseed.

I wouldn't. I wouldn't want to have to house it.