North American Native Fish

[AquaHobbyist123]

I hate how most species of North American fish are overlooked in the aquarium hobby. True, most require bigger tanks but not all of them such as the darters and the dwarf sunfishes. As a result, It is extremely hard to find these fish.

[BrettD]

Well there are some people here keeping them, I'm sure they'll be around to exchange information about this. Try a forum search for your favorites, see if anyone has discussed them. I know for sure there are some active discussions going on regarding a couple Shiner and Darter species, as well as Florida Flag Fish.

[cavdad45]

Check out the Florida Flagfish

[Pepere]

Golden Topminnows are native and not terribly hard to obtain.

the sparkling on their sides is quite attractive too.

[L_goodei200]

Golden Topminnows, Blufin Killifish, Rainbow Shiners, Least Killifish, and Florida Flagfish are all readily available, and fine in smaller tanks. Some of the more unusual species can be bought from a couple of online NANF specialty stores. The other option is to collect your own, just be aware of the local laws.

[AquaHobbyist123]

Any online stores you would suggest? I knew about most of the fish you have mentioned, but they are not available near me. I only have one lfs which is kinda small so I would have to purchase online.

Not too many unpolluted streams near here.

I have been looking for madtom catfish but I cannot find any for sale and they are protected in my area in the few streams that are clean and accessible

[eddie462]

There are many great NA natives that are small, they just need to be bred and advertised more. I have Okefenokee and Gulf Coast Pygmy Sunfish. They’re amazing and I love the colors on the males. The first picture is my Okefenokee. The second is of the Gulf Coast. The third picture is of my Cajun Dwarf Crayfish. This one is really starting to turn a cool reddish color. In person it looks way cooler. I also have least killifish, but they’re more of a novelty. I saw Bluefin Killifish in the wild. When the sun hits the males fins, the blue is stunning. The last picture is an article of the Redface topminnow. This is a male in nuptial dress. He’s amazing and I didn’t know that they looked like this. In Google images, there are just brown with a little red. These fish are in my area, and I plan to go search and fish for them. I could easily breed a lot of these fish in a pond as I’m in FL, so I could increase the popularity of NA natives. 
 

I purchased my Okefenokee from Jonah’s Aquarium. You can look up his website and ask for a current stock list. The website isn’t up to date. Aquabid is another great source for natives. Just inspect the person selling the fish. Check their reviews and ask questions. 

Edited July 8, 2022 by eddie462

[Patrick_G]

Here’s a fascinating thread on North American fish.  
@Fish Folk, thanks again for putting this together! 
 

 

 

[BradfordAquatics]

There is so many great options for US native fish that stay small, but I do agree that they should be way more popular! Unfortunately, there just isn't very much info about keeping them in aquariums, not to mention how hard they are to find. I'd love to see natives grow in popularity

[BrettD]

Wow, all those hours I spent on reddit and other forums, I can't believe I am just now learning about that Redface Topminnow. I am constantly learning things on this forum. You guys are great.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Fish Folkhas become among many things our resident NANFA and native species guru. Feel free to send him a DM about the online sources. He also has some gorgeous shiners, I’m hoping in a year or two he’ll have saffron shiners! 

[AquaHobbyist123]

Thanks for the tip! I will be checking out aquabid and jonah's aquarium! I've been on many other aquarium forums but have never heard of those before!

[Biotope Biologist]

That guy with the eel pit (eel influencer?) on the east side bought his burbot from jonah’s aquarium. I didn’t know they existed either but burbot are very rare in the fish trade so it definitely peaked my interest. 
 

A few forum members here were lucky in May and graced with some native fish that smuggled in on their plants from Florida. I believe a golden topminnow, Florida flagfish and a pupfish of some sort.

 

I had some rainbow shiners and I loved them for a week until 3 of them launched themselves out of my tank. So I’d say heavy cover or a tight fitting lid is recommended for them. Although now my tank is a true asian creek biotope like I wanted all along, so all is not lost I suppose.

[Torrey]

On 7/5/2022 at 10:54 AM, AquaHobbyist123 said:

I hate how most species of North American fish are overlooked in the aquarium hobby. True, most require bigger tanks but not all of them such as the darters and the dwarf sunfishes. As a result, It is extremely hard to find these fish.

I am setting up our 4' dining room tank for NANF. I already started breeding Palaemonetes paludosus to have established in the tank before I order the fish. I prefer as balanced of an ecosystem as possible, to set the foundation for success, and my first ever NANF tank is no exception. @Fish Folk has several excellent posts, and videos, on NANF.

[AquaHobbyist123]

I had never heard of the Redface Topminnow before, but it certainly is a beautiful fish. I'd love to be able to keep those fish.

Also, We have so many beautiful fish that live in the US  that aren't advertised and with little recorded information about them. Many small Native Fish can be only found in bait shops or in large specialty stores (though those are few and far between, at least where I live). Considering Florida Flagfish for an upcoming breeding project/study.

[Robert Keeney]

I have bluefin killies, least killies, flagfish, mollies, and pygmy sunfish.