Patrick_G Posted October 8, 2021 Share Posted October 8, 2021 Congratulations! They’re looking great so far. They’re almost like Mudskippers in the way they move around the tank. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted October 8, 2021 Author Share Posted October 8, 2021 On 10/8/2021 at 3:31 PM, Patrick_G said: Congratulations! They’re looking great so far. They’re almost like Mudskippers in the way they move around the tank. Yes! Very similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted October 10, 2021 Author Share Posted October 10, 2021 Just wanted to show that at least _these_ Darters (Rainbow & Banded) _do_ eat frozen bloodworms. Rainbow Darter eating bloodworms… Banded Darter eating bloodworms… To be fair, it is a slow process. They’re certainly _not_ voracious yet like many other fish. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted October 11, 2021 Author Share Posted October 11, 2021 Young Rainbow Darter (male) finishing up blood worm this morning. Two young male Rainbow Darters in a staring contest. Telltale orange on tail circled indicating their sex. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted October 12, 2021 Author Share Posted October 12, 2021 Banded Darters chowing down on frozen bloodworms this evening… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted October 13, 2021 Author Share Posted October 13, 2021 Two minutes with the Banded Darters (Etheostoma zonale). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted October 13, 2021 Author Share Posted October 13, 2021 5x hungry Banded Darters at breakfast call… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted October 13, 2021 Author Share Posted October 13, 2021 (edited) This work is incredible! Love Tennessee Aquarium for making and sharing content like this. Tangerine Darters caught and bred then fry released as “virgin” for mussels to lure and multiply. Just fascinating relationship… Edited October 13, 2021 by Fish Folk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted November 2, 2021 Author Share Posted November 2, 2021 Saw two young male Rainbow Darters chillin’ out front this evening… 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted November 30, 2021 Author Share Posted November 30, 2021 Rainbow Darters & Co. doing well… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atitagain Posted November 30, 2021 Share Posted November 30, 2021 That male is such a looker. When it’s breeding time will you just let it go in there ? Are they known for preying on their young or the other species you have in there? What did you say they were? Are you worried about them eating the fry? Or will there be a spawning tank? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted November 30, 2021 Author Share Posted November 30, 2021 On 11/29/2021 at 10:04 PM, Atitagain said: That male is such a looker. When it’s breeding time will you just let it go in there ? Are they known for preying on their young or the other species you have in there? What did you say they were? Are you worried about them eating the fry? Or will there be a spawning tank? I was just text messaging with my friend, a former NANFA president about this very subject today. These Rainbow Darters (Etheostoma caeruleum) breed in small gravel like this: He told me that I should consider using a bare tank with a HOB filter and a small tray with this black gravel placed beneath the outflow. The females hop in the gravel tray and bury their body partially down in the gravel. Males jump in . . . the deed is done . . . and eggs are deposited down in the gravel. Then, the tray can be picked out and the eggs can be removed. The sandy substrate in this tank is not what they'd prefer. Nor is the rough, sharp Eco Complete in my other Rainbow Darter tank. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atitagain Posted November 30, 2021 Share Posted November 30, 2021 I see, that’s pretty cool! So they want a decent current and then bury down. Then so what do you think? Put the parents back in the main tank then leave tray and let nature happen or be more cautious and pull the eggs and methane blue or tumble or something? You can probably tell I’m fairly excited for you. Hope you get a lot of this on video. good luck mate 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted November 30, 2021 Author Share Posted November 30, 2021 (edited) On 11/29/2021 at 10:30 PM, Atitagain said: I see, that’s pretty cool! So they want a decent current and then bury down. Then so what do you think? Put the parents back in the main tank then leave tray and let nature happen or be more cautious and pull the eggs and methane blue or tumble or something? You can probably tell I’m fairly excited for you. Hope you get a lot of this on video. good luck mate For a first go at it, if I'm trying to earn BAP for my fish club, I'll pull the tray, sort through the black gravel to find eggs (which are lighter colored) and do the whole m-blue bit. BUT the other thing my friend told me is that I need to fool them with light by _lessening_ their photo period to 8 hrs a day for a handful of weeks to simulate winter. Then slowly reopen the photo period to simulate spring. Same trick works on other natives. Edited November 30, 2021 by Fish Folk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eatyourpeas Posted November 30, 2021 Share Posted November 30, 2021 They are beautiful! And remind me of the tidepool sculpins in my SW tank. 😍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted December 15, 2021 Author Share Posted December 15, 2021 I’ve not seen my mature pair of Rainbow Darters for awhile - a few weeks - in my 29 gal. tank at work. I feed them every day, assuming they’re in there… but they’ve not made an appearance. So, this afternoon, after a cold water change, I jostled the wood they’ve been known to hide under. Wow! That male and female came out. He’s huge, and totally colored up. I couldn’t snap a photo. But I’ve decided to add more Rainbow Darters to get them displaying. Hopefully I’ll get some awesome shots to post soon… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted December 16, 2021 Author Share Posted December 16, 2021 Alrighty. Today, I’ve moved two young male Rainbow Darters from a 20 gal. long in fishroom over to 29 gal. at Office. The 29 gal. already has a mature pair in. My goal is to witness some seriously colorful displays in the larger tank. They weren’t terribly difficult to catch… Showing sone nice colors… In sunlight… And now adjusting to new tank… Once they draw out the big male from his lair, there will be rainbow fireworks. Nothing deadly, mind you. I’ll pull them if it’s getting down to injuries. I just want to actually _SEE_ these Darters more. 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted December 19, 2021 Author Share Posted December 19, 2021 Easier to find the Rainbow Darters now. Big Guy still shy… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted January 3, 2022 Author Share Posted January 3, 2022 Plan worked! Rainbow Darters coming out from hiding a lot more now that there are 3x males / 1x female rather than the 1 / 1 ratio. Here’s a couple minutes of “Still Cam” while I left the room. This is edited down from 19-minutes. They’re not terribly social (for me at least), but very interesting when they come out! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted February 11, 2022 Author Share Posted February 11, 2022 Banded Darter tank update: waiting for spring! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Native Keeper Posted February 11, 2022 Share Posted February 11, 2022 (edited) how cool! I used to have Orangethroat darters, I'm thinking of getting some again this year! Edited February 11, 2022 by Native Keeper 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted February 11, 2022 Author Share Posted February 11, 2022 On 2/11/2022 at 9:57 AM, Native Keeper said: how cool! I used to have Orange sided darters, I'm thinking of getting some again this year! Awesome! I’ve just started down this journey this past year. Got about 6x Banded Darters in this tank. Then about 5x Rainbow Darters in another. I haven’t effectively set up breeding for either one, though I’ve done a fair bit of research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted March 23, 2022 Author Share Posted March 23, 2022 (edited) Walked into my LFS last week, and behold! They had gotten in a fish none of them could ID. Some sort of Darter. I told them she was an Etheostoma of some species, and they asked if I wanted her. Well yes! Maybe a Johnny Darter, or Tessellated Darter? In other tanks, my Banded Darters are coloring up with Spring.., And my Rainbow Darters are too… This other Rainbow guy is getting big, and likes to hide under the glass cube… Edited March 23, 2022 by Fish Folk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted April 1, 2022 Author Share Posted April 1, 2022 Dominant male Banded Darter (Etheostoma zonale) from my tank finally putting in vibrant spring color… 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted April 18, 2022 Author Share Posted April 18, 2022 As other US Natives are gearing up to spawn, I am eager to trigger these Banded Darters to lay some eggs. Their tank has kind of been growing lots of duckweed across the top, not getting as frequent water changes as it deserves, and the cheaper powerhead konked out in it. SO! Today was a big upgrade: (1) Removed broken Powerhead, and replaced with another functioning powerhead attached to a sponge filter intake. This was something that folks mentioned on the Forum. I tested it out in this new 10-gal tank that I got to replace the one that cracked a couple weeks ago... (2) Removed loads of duckweed, and extra small flowerettes of water lettuce to provide more light, and lengthened the photo period by an hour. (3) Performed a water change, and fed frozen blood worms Here is a video showing the tank presently, and explaining my thinking about the breeding process / plan. I suspect that I'll be adding several mops. I've already got one made. I think that mops will provide the context for spawning that these guys really need. But here's hoping the Java moss looks enticing! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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