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Mountain Redbelly Dace

Started by Guest_bumpylemon_* , Aug 30 2009 07:18 PM

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#1 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 30 August 2009 - 07:18 PM

all the pictures that i see are very similar to this...
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or

so my question is do they always stay like this or is this when they are ready to breed? same with the crecent shiner...do they stay that pinkish color or is that only breeding. i was also wondering if anyone could post pics of them how they will generally look. thanks

#2 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 30 August 2009 - 07:24 PM

i was also wondering what warpaint shiners look like while not all dolled up like this
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#3 Guest_Kanus_*

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Posted 30 August 2009 - 07:33 PM

Me and Drew (before he went defunct) and others have had discussions about MRBD coloration. A lot of it has to do with temperature I believe. I have one in my 75g which this time of year is running about 78 degrees. I have to say his black coloration is pretty washed out but he still maintains at least a flush of red on his belly, and when he is happy he does become quite colorful. Also, there seems to be some regional variation in the black pattern. Me and Arnoldi actually compared some in one of his tanks, where he has roughly equal numbers of MRBD from the Rappahannock drainage and from the James drainage. They are easy to tell apart, since the James specimens have much larger, more distinct black spots on the dorsal surface, while the Rappahannock specimens have a less defined peppering of black. The lemon-yellow fins are a breeding characteristic, though we have seen them with yellow fins for most of the summertime, they generally fade within a few weeks.

Also, I believe someone also mentioned that MRBD caught in lower elevation/lower gradient areas tend to be more likely to stay fired up than those used to cold, higher gradient mountain streams. Hopefully someone can chime in on that, I haven't caught them from enough different sites to really make an observation on that.

#4 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 30 August 2009 - 07:39 PM

thanks for your input. are you gonna be able to come to southwestern virginia at all? i said in the other thread that i am mostly lookin for every species of darter im able to collect...and warpaint, MRBD, and maybe some saffron or crescent shiners.

Edited by bumpylemon, 30 August 2009 - 07:45 PM.

#5 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 30 August 2009 - 07:51 PM

We were catching warpaints out of Cypress Creek north of Florence, Alabama, late last month that were all distinctly colored like in the posted picture. Even juveniles had the fin coloration and were easy to tell from other young shiners. If you ever encounter them you'll know immediately. At the time we were looking for highland shiners, so we let all of the warpaints go.

#6 Guest_jblaylock_*

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Posted 30 August 2009 - 08:36 PM

The warpaint I have looks like that most of the time. It's been in a tank for a while and keeps the fin coloration. It has that red stripe on the face, but it's not as bold as the pic.

#7 Guest_tricolor_*

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Posted 01 September 2009 - 12:52 PM

Generally the warpaint does live in relatively cold water though?

We were catching warpaints out of Cypress Creek north of Florence, Alabama, late last month that were all distinctly colored like in the posted picture. Even juveniles had the fin coloration and were easy to tell from other young shiners. If you ever encounter them you'll know immediately. At the time we were looking for highland shiners, so we let all of the warpaints go.

#8 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 01 September 2009 - 01:14 PM

Yeah, warpaints definitely prefer relatively cool, clear, flowing water.

#9 Guest_BTDarters_*

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Posted 02 September 2009 - 03:51 AM

Wow!! I've never seen pictures of Mountain Redbellies like that. Awesome!!

Brian

#10 Guest_gerald_*

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Posted 02 September 2009 - 12:05 PM

The NC Museum of Nat Sci in Raleigh has a tank of mountain redbelly dace that stay in color pretty much year-round, kept around low 70s with a chiller. Lots of good food is probably key. Mine at home (no chiller) lose most of their color when temp exceeds 75, but they stay healthy even in low 80s. BTW, redbelly dace love peas!

#11 Guest_bumpylemon_*

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Posted 02 September 2009 - 12:11 PM

The NC Museum of Nat Sci in Raleigh has a tank of mountain redbelly dace that stay in color pretty much year-round, kept around low 70s with a chiller. Lots of good food is probably key. Mine at home (no chiller) lose most of their color when temp exceeds 75, but they stay healthy even in low 80s. BTW, redbelly dace love peas!

maybe you can head over to virginia this weekend and help us out!!!

#12 Guest_bart_*

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Posted 10 January 2010 - 03:34 PM

Very pretty fish. I would like to collect some mountain redbelly dace. I have room in my 30 gallon stream/minnow tank in the basement and have been looking for something new and interesting to put in. Here you have it. The tank stays very cold and they should thrive. How much current do mrbd like? I am thinking of adding a powerhead and I may reconsider if it would be too much for them. I'm looking at something in the 300 gph range. To much flow for mrbd?

How soon would it be feasible to make my way down to southern va for collecting? I would also really like to get a roanoke darter and any other darters I can legally collect. Anyone wanna go?

Edited by bart, 10 January 2010 - 03:44 PM.

#13 Guest_Kanus_*

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Posted 10 January 2010 - 07:39 PM

If anyone is coming to the area, let me know and I will surely do what I can to join you.

#14 Guest_Drew_*

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Posted 10 January 2010 - 11:19 PM

Very pretty fish. I would like to collect some mountain redbelly dace. I have room in my 30 gallon stream/minnow tank in the basement and have been looking for something new and interesting to put in. Here you have it. The tank stays very cold and they should thrive. How much current do mrbd like? I am thinking of adding a powerhead and I may reconsider if it would be too much for them. I'm looking at something in the 300 gph range. To much flow for mrbd?

How soon would it be feasible to make my way down to southern va for collecting? I would also really like to get a roanoke darter and any other darters I can legally collect. Anyone wanna go?

If you break up the current it won't be too bad for the mrbd.

It is never too soon. We've collected MRBD in December and January in years past. It is best to get them while it is cold so they won't be easily stressed out. You can get the MRBD and Roanoke darter in the Charlottesville, VA area.

#15 Guest_bart_*

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Posted 10 January 2010 - 11:53 PM

Interesting. Thanks for the info Drew!

So MRBD and Roanoke darters are definitely my target species however, what would the plausibility be of collecting these species too in the same trip this time of year? I checked natureserve and I should be able to find these guys all in the same general area.

Sheild darter
Chainback darter
Glassy darter

I like my odds better in Virginia since they only let you use a 4'x4' seine in Pennsylvania. The furthest north I can find my target fish in VA the better as I am coming from south eastern pa.

#16 Guest_Kanus_*

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Posted 11 January 2010 - 12:08 AM

Those Percina seem to not be quite so common in this area as they can be other places...sorta hit or miss with them in my experience. I do have a spot or two that seems to turn them up fairly regularly though, sometimes along with the glassy darters. These spots are roughly an hour east of the spots Drew is talking about. I'm sure the Percina's could be found along with the roanoke darters though. Also in the area, though not real common at the spots I've been to, are Longfin darters, Etheostoma longimanum. Those are quite handsome little fish also.

#17 Guest_bart_*

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Posted 11 January 2010 - 12:14 AM

Nice. What about this time of year? Longfin huh? Cool.

#18 Guest_Kanus_*

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Posted 11 January 2010 - 12:22 AM

I haven't done much collecting in the winter time, at least night when it has been THIS cold (17 degrees right now), but I have occasionally broken ice to get into a good spot. I will agree with Drew and state that in my experience, I have perfectly good luck getting fish in the winter, and they definitely do transport/acclimate better in cold weather.

#19 Guest_bart_*

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Posted 11 January 2010 - 12:33 AM

Yeah, me too. Definitely busted through some ice to get at some collecting. I really get into the aquarium deal in the winter. I'm very excited to get some MRBD. PM sent.

#20 Guest_jblaylock_*

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Posted 18 January 2010 - 09:08 AM

I ordered 4 MRBD's from Sachs, all but 1 has made it onto the floor. They are slow growers (nearly fry when I got them). The belly on the one I have never turns red, maybe it's a female. I would love to have a couple of males.