Fish Folk Posted September 24, 2021 Author Share Posted September 24, 2021 The Tennessee Aquarium does really great work with native U. S. fish. I like to examine the tank designs for their Tennessee Darter display here. Just a brief glimpse, but interesting… 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted September 25, 2021 Author Share Posted September 25, 2021 Signed up for a free JSTOR research account in order to read Ichthyology Journal articles. Easiest to search using Latin binomial names. Here was one I read today, “Spawning Behavior of Etheostoma Zonale” (1994). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted September 25, 2021 Author Share Posted September 25, 2021 I’m primarily an auditory learner, so it’s with great pleasure that I found and have begun enjoying this podcast featuring guests Henny Kruckenberg and Konrad Schmidt (Minnesota Aquarium Society / NANFA). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted September 25, 2021 Author Share Posted September 25, 2021 (edited) If you go to the NANFA homepage, there's a "Search" bar in the lower left of the page. I've discovered that entering any native U. S. fish yields a TON of articles . . . I may have shared this in some other form, but this explains how to set up various kinds of Darter aquariums to best meet their unique species needs. Edited September 25, 2021 by Fish Folk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon p Posted September 25, 2021 Share Posted September 25, 2021 On 9/24/2021 at 8:34 PM, Fish Folk said: Signed up for a free JSTOR research account in order to read Ichthyology Journal articles. Easiest to search using Latin binomial names. Here was one I read today, “Spawning Behavior of Etheostoma Zonale” (1994). Thank you I’ll have to look into it. I loved being a 30year old in college and having access to most other no just JSTOR.thank you so much 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted September 25, 2021 Author Share Posted September 25, 2021 Another interesting article on JSTOR titled "Substrate Choice by Three Species of Darters (Teleostei: Percidae) in an Artificial Stream: Effects of a Nonnative Species." This is interesting, because I know that for Rainbow Darters, in the wild the substrate of streams and rivers is a majorly important factoring their spawning methods. I love the secondary info that can be obtained with these studies. One quote on feeding stood out, "We fed fish a combination of live California Blackworms and ground trout pellets three times daily at 0800, 1200, and 1600 through ties that emptied at the stream bottom ..." I've been planning on feeding live blackworms, but had not found anyone who stated that as the basis for their darter diet until here. I am planning to buy some live blackworms from up in PA, and follow the seller's instructions for keeping them alive and well in our fridge. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted September 25, 2021 Author Share Posted September 25, 2021 (edited) There's a handful of photographs of Etheostoma zonale (Banded darter) specimens photographed back in the 1980s. Here are a few shots, just to illustrate several colorations. Some of this may depend on maturity, genetics, diet, breeding / non-breeding season, substrate, flora, etc. Another possibility is that these photos may be of both males and females. The 2nd one down almost looks more like a Greenside Darter in spawning coloration. Edited September 25, 2021 by Fish Folk 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted September 25, 2021 Author Share Posted September 25, 2021 Another JSTOR find: "Systematics of the Banded Darter, Etheostoma zonale (Pisces: Percidae)" - 1974. This is a right proper 24-page article. The authors attest to having looked at a total of 3,658 specimens!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted September 25, 2021 Author Share Posted September 25, 2021 (edited) My 5-yr old darter-catching son just brought me this… Like the bird field guides, this is the U. S. Native fish field guide with photos. Here’s the Banded darter photograph. Nice specimen! This is the species description in the back half. Excellent info! I’ll mention… this book is totally destroyed… because my boy decided it would be great to read while in the bath 🤦♂️ 💦 Edited September 25, 2021 by Fish Folk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted September 25, 2021 Author Share Posted September 25, 2021 (edited) Start this video at 4:20 for an introductory Ichthyology lecture on Kentucky Darters.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TINMR5b5Jg Note: "Etheostoma" is pronounced by the teacher on this video: "ee-thee-AH-stoh-mah" Totally different from how I've been saying it in my mind . . . 😅 Edited September 25, 2021 by Fish Folk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetwise Posted September 25, 2021 Share Posted September 25, 2021 I love your updates! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted September 25, 2021 Author Share Posted September 25, 2021 (edited) Check out this video, starting at 11:33 - Blueside Darters (Etheostoma jessiae) -- very rare find! Wild Rainbow Darter males at 20:03 Edited September 25, 2021 by Fish Folk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griznatch Posted September 25, 2021 Share Posted September 25, 2021 Wow, thanks for all the info! I'm thinking your level of research is a major factor in your success in breeding fish. ...that and whatever is in your water 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted September 25, 2021 Author Share Posted September 25, 2021 On 9/25/2021 at 6:48 PM, Griznatch said: Wow, thanks for all the info! I'm thinking your level of research is a major factor in your success in breeding fish. ...that and whatever is in your water 🙂 I’m unable to get the Darters until about October 7th or so due to travels. So this is what I do while waiting! This tank is really looking forward to hosting Banded Darters… 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted September 28, 2021 Author Share Posted September 28, 2021 (edited) Still chugging away at bits of research. Here's a nice thread on NANFA Forum, ca. 2012 - Q&A about "breeding darters." This is spectacular info to weigh and consider. Especially the seasonal cool-down & photo-period change . . . very interesting. Also the recommended 1:3 ratio is worth pondering. Removing parents to allow fry successful growth sets up some interesting puzzles for me to consider. Edited September 28, 2021 by Fish Folk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted September 29, 2021 Author Share Posted September 29, 2021 Alrighty then. This is an unnecessary, overly-indulgent, 13+ min unscripted rambling about an empty (future darter) tank. There’s probably something random here that one person on this forum needs to hear. And a thousand uninteresting and boring things everyone else doesn’t care about. To that one person, I say “Cheers NERM!” For everyone else… watch this at your own risk!! 😂 🌱 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted October 7, 2021 Author Share Posted October 7, 2021 I’m expecting Darters to arrive this weekend. I’m trading about 50x Xenotoca doadrioi for a bunch of Darters. I’m hoping my seller will be successful moving the Goodeids, since they specialize in native fish and their customers are good cool-water / NANFA-type folks. He said, “Are you Ok if I toss in a few extra Darters?” 😅 Well!! I determined I’d better get another tank ready. So here’s what I’ve done… 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johannes Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 Great read, I wonder if there are any darters in euorope🤔, if so i WILL get some😃 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted October 7, 2021 Author Share Posted October 7, 2021 On 10/7/2021 at 10:44 AM, Johannes said: Great read, I wonder if there are any darters in euorope🤔, if so i WILL get some😃 I hope you can find some! Search for “Etheostoma” in all seller indexes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amr427 Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 Those tanks are amazing! Never really thought about keeping native species. Missouri has the lovely Niangua Darter, sadly it is endangered☹️ https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/niangua-darter Until today hadn't thought about that little guy since college, my degree was in Fisheries and Wildlife, don't get to excited though my emphasis was on the wildlife🤣 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted October 7, 2021 Author Share Posted October 7, 2021 On 10/7/2021 at 11:18 AM, amr427 said: Those tanks are amazing! Never really thought about keeping native species. Missouri has the lovely Niangua Darter, sadly it is endangered☹️ https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/niangua-darter Until today hadn't thought about that little guy since college, my degree was in Fisheries and Wildlife, don't get to excited though my emphasis was on the wildlife🤣 Thanks for sharing about that! The Etheostoma genus is PACKED with _at least_ 157 distinct species. That Niangua Darter (Etheostoma nianguae) looks like it can max out at about 5-inches. Depending on the State regulations in your area, it is possible that you can walk right into small waterways and catch them if you've got the appropriate licenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted October 8, 2021 Author Share Posted October 8, 2021 I decided that I wanted to boost KH in my auxiliary Darter tank that I’ve just ‘red’ up. Behold: Crushed coral! Add two cups for 20 gal… Go into tank with zero plan… Create a cloudy mess… 😂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 On 10/7/2021 at 6:54 PM, Fish Folk said: Create a cloudy mess… Been there recently. I put a filter bag full in a HOB and BOOM 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted October 8, 2021 Author Share Posted October 8, 2021 Here’s hoping for a good day… Darters in town, en route to the mailroom! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted October 8, 2021 Author Share Posted October 8, 2021 THE MAIL IS HERE!!!! Here’s the brief intro videos… Banded Darters… (1) Still in bags (2) In new tank Rainbow Darters… (3) In shipping bags (4) In new tank 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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