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Madtom species in Northern Virginia/Washington D.C. waters

Started by Guest_Gene2308_* , May 17 2009 03:20 PM

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13 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_Gene2308_*

Guests

Posted 17 May 2009 - 03:20 PM

Hi, I am getting back into aquariums after a long departure...but have really become solely interested in natives for most of the standard reasons all of you probably have :smile2:

.

I was wondering what madtoms I am likely to find along the Rock Creek (D.C.) tributaries where I now live? I would also definitely like to make as minimal an impact as possible when choosing my species, so I intend to read up on this site.

I used to have several, large aquariums with various Mbuna, Frontosas, etc. but have really lost interest in Tropicals. Keeping natives just seems so much more appealing as I get older.

Thank you for your help,

#2 Guest_daveneely_*

Guests

Posted 17 May 2009 - 08:32 PM

Welcome!

Margined madtoms are the only species that are in Rock Creek; you can also get tadpole madtoms just a little to your southeast on the edge of the District. Both species do well in captivity and both are common in appropriate habitat. Many of your local minnow species also do very well in aquaria. Good luck!

#3 Guest_Gene2308_*

Guests

Posted 18 May 2009 - 06:23 AM

Thank you for your feedback! I will research those individuals. I may have to see where I can find tadpole madtoms in the area as well.

Is there a range map on this site by chance?

Sincerely,

#4 Guest_daveneely_*

Guests

Posted 18 May 2009 - 09:24 AM

Is there a range map on this site by chance?

Maryland DNR has been conducting quantitative stream surveys for the last 15 years; they provide maps and data on fish distributions on their website. Google search on "Maryland fish distributions" should hit it. Virginia doesn't provide a similar level of data, but there's a great book on Freshwater Fishes of Virginia (Jenkins and Burkhead, 1994) that has excellent distributional maps.

#5 Michael Wolfe

Board of Directors

North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 18 May 2009 - 02:10 PM

Margined madtoms are the only species that are in Rock Creek

You should seriously consider these guys... I had a couple that made the most regular appearances of any madtom I have had... almost everyday at feeding time... Very nice fish.

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

#6 Guest_Gene2308_*

Guests

Posted 18 May 2009 - 05:44 PM

Thank you guys for your input! I am even more interested in these guys now :smile2:

Sincerely,

#7 Guest_ashtonmj_*

Guests

Posted 20 May 2009 - 07:06 PM

Gene,

Did we meet in the spring by chance at the Patuxent 4-H center? Anyways, the link Dave mentioned is below.... It's lagging in the taxonomy and up to dateness. We hope to have the maps with fresh information in the next year or so. We have the information and it can be requested formally, but that website is based on a server that is no longer supported by our IT department on top of the fact major updates are on hold until a unified state template is implemented.

MBSS Fish Distributions

Hopefully another member here who works with MNCPPC can chime in with even closer records for you.

Speaking of Maryland catfish Dave...we think we noticed a drawing boo boo in the bullhead couplets at Rich's lab today....

#8 Guest_Gene2308_*

Guests

Posted 21 May 2009 - 06:12 AM

Gene,

Did we meet in the spring by chance at the Patuxent 4-H center?

No, I don't believe I have ever been there. Although I did meet someone named Matt (I think) at the Anacostia River Festival a couple of weeks ago...

I appreciate the link you provided!

#9 Guest_ashtonmj_*

Guests

Posted 21 May 2009 - 06:28 AM

Definately wasn't me. Must have been some other people from your office I met this spring for Maryland benthic invert training.

#10 Guest_daveneely_*

Guests

Posted 21 May 2009 - 08:14 AM

Speaking of Maryland catfish Dave...we think we noticed a drawing boo boo in the bullhead couplets at Rich's lab today....

Hmm... So what'd I screw up? Let me know and I'll redo them.

#11 Guest_ashtonmj_*

Guests

Posted 21 May 2009 - 08:32 AM

The yellow bullhead text above the picture says "pectoral fine spine smooth or weakly serrate" but it points to a spine that is serrate while the brown bullhead text says "pectoral fin spine strongly serrate" and it points to a smooth spine. I honestly never noticed it because the text seems correct so I didn't look that hard at the fine details of the illustration. Some of the printings last year were of such poor quality that I bet some people couldn't even see that great detail you drew, but I got a decent copy job this year. Scott was perplexed and questioning the pickled fish in hand for a few minutes...kind of funny.

#12 Guest_daveneely_*

Guests

Posted 21 May 2009 - 08:46 AM

Hmm, wonder if the illustrations just got switched? I'll check on my copy.

Thanks!

#13 Guest_ashtonmj_*

Guests

Posted 21 May 2009 - 09:57 AM

Yup, it pretty much looks like the spines got switched...

#14 Guest_Gene2308_*

Guests

Posted 22 May 2009 - 06:23 AM

Definately wasn't me. Must have been some other people from your office I met this spring for Maryland benthic invert training.

I am only a month into the job so it is likely that you met either Jeff or Gerald instead of myself. They are both really great guys and both have definitely taken macro training in the past couple of years.

Actually, I aim to do the same once it is available to me