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40 gallon breeder stocking options

Started by Guest_NATHANFOUDRAY_* , Jan 03 2010 11:30 AM

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16 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_NATHANFOUDRAY_*

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Posted 03 January 2010 - 11:30 AM

hey im brand new to this forum but i have been keeping tropicals and coldwater fish for years. i recently fell in love with the fathead minnow haha and i have a 40 gallon breeder aquarium taht i want to stock
10-15 fathead minnows
3-5 arkansas darters

and maybe some colorful small sunfish or perch?

something thats native to eastern kansas is best because i can catch it in the creeks and rivers here

i want color and something not to big and i figured out of any forum this one would know best!

thanks

#2 Guest_Newt_*

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Posted 03 January 2010 - 11:59 AM

Hello and welcome from one Nathan to another!

A few things to consider:

1) Fatheads and sunfish are very aggressive feeders, and darters are not. It will be difficult to keep darters happy in that tank- not impossible, but it will require extra effort. For example, you could drop flakes or pellets at one end of the tank, and while the minnows and sunnies are distracted, use a length of pipe to deliver bloodworms to the bottom at the other end of the tank for the darters. If that sounds like a lot of trouble, consider setting up a second tank for your darters.

2) Most sunfish will prey on minnows and darters. Perhaps your best bet is the orange-spotted sunfish, a small and peaceable species found in your area. Fortunately, o-spots are also among the prettiest sunfish!

3) Fatheads are cavity nesters. If you want your minnows to reproduce, you will need some cave-like structures. Ceramic flowerpots, pieces of pipe, or stacks of rocks or bricks will work. If you go for the last option, be careful to stabilize the stacks so they don't get knocked over and possibly crush your fish or even crack your tank.

#3 Michael Wolfe

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North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 03 January 2010 - 01:57 PM

I like the idea of having your forvorite minnow and darters in the same tank. I have a number of community tanks with my local shiners (or other favorites) mixed with darters and while you do have to overfeed a little, it is still very workable. I would recommend against the sunfish or perch however... not totally, just not in this tank.

I don't know much about Kansas, but if I can assume that easter Kansas is similar to western Missouri then you have several other interesting minnows in your area that could add interest and color to your tank (from Fishes of Missouri):

Bluntface Shiner Cyprinella camura (large active minnow with subtle but interesting colors)
Cardinal Shiner Luxilus cardinalis (very brightly colored as the name suggests)
Southern Redbelly Dace Phoxinus erthrogaster (may be on the edge of your range, but worth the trip)
Horneyhead chub (Nocomis biguttatus (a much larger fish, but relatively safe with others)

You could also add a pair of topminnows to that tank... I think there are one or two out your way...

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

#4 Guest_catfish_hunter_*

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Posted 03 January 2010 - 07:11 PM

Also, if you still want darters and fatheads together, fatheads LOVE those algae wafers made by Hikari. They will swarm those and pick them apart with a fury. Good distraction food right there!

#5 Guest_NATHANFOUDRAY_*

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Posted 03 January 2010 - 07:44 PM

thanks but im looking for something not like a minnow more of a fish that likes to be by itself

#6 Guest_adirondackpond_*

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Posted 04 January 2010 - 04:46 PM

Nathanfoudray, one type of sunfish you might consider is the Pumpkinseed, they are very colorful, are pretty tough and they have been introduced into eastern Kansas. I have 10 large ones in a 100 gal tank with a few Golden Shiners and they appear to get along well.

#7 Guest_CATfishTONY_*

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Posted 04 January 2010 - 05:14 PM

i have o-spots and creekchubs with a large gold shiner in a tank but every tiime i add rossie reds or fatheads they dont last over night
the o-spots are one of my top five fish for sure.they stay small look nice as in color and play fair with other tanks mates.

#8 Guest_NATHANFOUDRAY_*

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Posted 04 January 2010 - 06:19 PM

alright there is a stocked lake with some sort of sunfish or perch i catch all the time its bluish and orange. ill try to get pics up but im not sure of the name

#9 Guest_NATHANFOUDRAY_*

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Posted 04 January 2010 - 06:23 PM

i believe its a longear sunfish can you tell me about this fish?

#10 Guest_adirondackpond_*

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Posted 04 January 2010 - 06:38 PM

Here's some info.
http://www.identicar...ish/sunfish.htm

#11 Guest_smbass_*

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Posted 04 January 2010 - 09:24 PM

Longears are very colorful fish and can make great aquarium fish. They are easy to feed and will eat a wide range of foods including pellets, worms, insects, shrimp, and very small feeder fish. In a 40 gallon tank you may want to just keep one large colorful male. This would be the easiest route and would allow you to not have to be cleaning the tank as often and not require an oversized filtration system on the tank. This may be the better route for your first time keeping a sunfish. The other route is to overstock the tank to break down the territory of what can be very aggressive male fish. This would require heavy filtration and probably would need 6-8 longears in the tank to make this work. You would have to clean the tank often to keep up with such a heavy bio-load on the tank. The other thing you can do is start with a group of very small young longears and raise them together, this will often also help with aggression problems if you let them live together their whole lives but does require your patience as the young fish do not have the bright colors of the large adult males.

#12 Guest_NATHANFOUDRAY_*

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Posted 05 January 2010 - 11:21 AM

i was planning on have 500 gph filtration on this because they are mostly streamfishes and need a current and only having one sunfish. is that ok?

#13 Guest_smbass_*

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Posted 05 January 2010 - 09:05 PM

one longear can be kept with other stream fishes if you choose carefully about what the other fish are.

#14 Guest_NATHANFOUDRAY_*

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Posted 06 January 2010 - 10:39 AM

would it work with fatheads and darters?

#15 Guest_smbass_*

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Posted 06 January 2010 - 07:45 PM

Larger species of darters and large mature fatheads should be ok with a longear that is trained to eat pellets and kept well fed. If this is the case he should have no reason to or interest in eating the darters or fatheads. Personally I would choose a Cyprinella sp. of minnow (many of these are rather large and durable) and something like dusky, slenderhead, or logperch for the darters.

#16 Guest_NATHANFOUDRAY_*

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Posted 07 January 2010 - 11:44 AM

well i already have a breeding school of 40+ fatheads in a goldfish tank and about 10 of them are the rosy red variation. i want them in with something besides goldfish and i know my already set up oscar tank wont work and ive always wantted to try natives. i was just gonna move about a fourth of the school to the native tank.

#17 Guest_smbass_*

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Posted 07 January 2010 - 08:30 PM

I would say it is worth a try and as long as the fatheads are some of the larger ones and the male longear you get is not a really large individual it should work fine.