And figured I should post in here and introduce myself. So, hello everyone! I've been thoroughly enjoying myself poring through the forums here over the past few days. There is a wealth of info here that is hard to come by anywhere else on the web. I have been keeping fish for quite a while now, but never had the confidence or tank space necessary to attempt a native tank. After the past year of being completely enamored with my Asian riverine type stiphodon tank though, my interest in setting up a natives version of the same setup is growing exponentially. This tank is still in the infancy of the planning stages yet, but I look forward to learning from you good folks and hope you will bear with my questions in the coming months.
Been lurking for a few days now...
Started by
Guest_inka4040_*
, Oct 19 2009 10:25 AM
15 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_fundulus_*
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Posted 19 October 2009 - 11:26 AM
Welcome to the Forum. The only advice I'll give you for a North American natives riverine tank is not to try and use a "dorm refrigerator" as a cooling source, the engineering and finances don't add up. But there's a wealth of other possibilities.
#3
Guest_inka4040_*
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Posted 19 October 2009 - 12:14 PM
Hahaha! Thanks for the advice, but I can only imagine the disasters someone as non diy inclined as myself could cause with a project like that. This tank will be located in my bedroom, which averages in the low to mid 60s in the winter, and probably reaches about 80 in the summer while I'm at work and the ac isn't on. Hopefully setting this tank up in a 55 will lend some temp stability despite the major daily swings in room temp. So far, the proposed stocking consists of rainbow darters, rainbow shiners, and redbelly dace. Do you forsee any issues with the temp ranges I'll be working within?
#4
Guest_fundulus_*
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Posted 19 October 2009 - 01:45 PM
With strong water movement that set-up should work. Redbelly dace would be the most sensitive of those three species. But you're right, the sheer size of the tank should moderate any temperature swings barring a prolonged electrical outage during a heat wave...
#5
Guest_inka4040_*
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Posted 19 October 2009 - 02:07 PM
Thanks for the insight. The tank will either have a river tank manifold, or a Rena xp2 in addition to a fluval 4 internal filter and a k2 depending on whether I have the time to put together the manifold. Am I correct in assuming that the winter temps will be near the low ranges for the shiners but still near the top values for the darters? I wonder what the chance of the darters breeding in such a setup would be. Thanks for your time Fundulus!
#9
Guest_BTDarters_*
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Posted 20 October 2009 - 02:33 AM
...Am I correct in assuming that the winter temps will be near the low ranges for the shiners but still near the top values for the darters? I wonder what the chance of the darters breeding in such a setup would be....
Firstly, welcome to the forum, inka4040! I hope that you find your stay both enjoyable and informative!
Secondly, you are correct about the temp range being on the high-end for darters. My darters take temps near 80*F, though, as long as the water is well-circulated. It also depends on the species of darter and area of initial collection. Swamp Darters (Etheostoma fusiforme), as they are found in Florida, will probably take high temps better than more northerly species. Also, Rainbow Darters (Etheosoma caeruleum) from Alabama will most likely take higher temperatures better than those from Wisconsin. Although the Rainbows from Wisconsin will take the lower temperatures better...It's really a trade-off. Also, regarding breeding of the darters, you're most likely to have better success with southerly species. If you can provide a cool-down and/or decreased photoperiod cycle, you may get your northerly species to breed, though. Hope this helps.
Brian
#10
Guest_inka4040_*
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Posted 20 October 2009 - 01:59 PM
Hello Brian. Thanks for the welcome and insight. I've been drooling over your site for years. Fortunately, I've got a bit of experience messing with photoperiod lenght from growing slipper orchids, so it should be no big stretch to do it for the darters. Unfortunately I will have to rely on whatever is commercially availabe whenever the tank is ready so I doubt my ability to source fish from specific collection areas. As for details about the required light and dark periods necessary to induce breeding, where would I go about sourcing such info? Would there be anything like seasonal fluctuation tables available? Not sure about this aspect of the fish hobby, but for orchids, one can find really detailed annual change reports given that most will not bloom without the proper seasonal fluctuations.
#14
Guest_BTDarters_*
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Posted 21 October 2009 - 01:57 AM
inka4040,
To get sunrise/sunset data for a full year, you can go to http://aa.usno.navy..../RS_OneYear.php. You just plug-in the city and state from where your fish were collected, and it gives you a full year's worth of data. If you were trying to breed Rainbow Darters (Etheostoma caeruleum) that you got from me, for example, you would plug in the location of Milwaukee, WI. To induce the darters to breed out of season, you may need to speed up the cycle. Also, you would probably have to have to adjust the tank temperature. This is all speculation, though, as I have only had Rainbow Darters breed for me when I've collected them during the breeding season. I hope that this information may be of help to you, though.
Brian
To get sunrise/sunset data for a full year, you can go to http://aa.usno.navy..../RS_OneYear.php. You just plug-in the city and state from where your fish were collected, and it gives you a full year's worth of data. If you were trying to breed Rainbow Darters (Etheostoma caeruleum) that you got from me, for example, you would plug in the location of Milwaukee, WI. To induce the darters to breed out of season, you may need to speed up the cycle. Also, you would probably have to have to adjust the tank temperature. This is all speculation, though, as I have only had Rainbow Darters breed for me when I've collected them during the breeding season. I hope that this information may be of help to you, though.
Brian
#16
Guest_nativeplanter_*
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Posted 23 October 2009 - 10:06 AM
Oooo... slipper orchids! Way cool. I've never kept any in captivity. Do you have any of thge native species? When I was growing up, we actually had C. acaule in the back yard under some pines. I took some nice photos of it then, but of course, I have no inkling as to where the negatives are. The best prints were given away to family members. Anyway, you are already a cool person in my book!
Hello Brian. Thanks for the welcome and insight. I've been drooling over your site for years. Fortunately, I've got a bit of experience messing with photoperiod lenght from growing slipper orchids, so it should be no big stretch to do it for the darters. Unfortunately I will have to rely on whatever is commercially availabe whenever the tank is ready so I doubt my ability to source fish from specific collection areas. As for details about the required light and dark periods necessary to induce breeding, where would I go about sourcing such info? Would there be anything like seasonal fluctuation tables available? Not sure about this aspect of the fish hobby, but for orchids, one can find really detailed annual change reports given that most will not bloom without the proper seasonal fluctuations.
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