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This is a journal about catching, keeping, trying to spawn, and raising US native fish.

For context… I have really enjoyed expanding my aquarium hobby over the last few years. From standard tropical species, into some slightly less-common Killis and Goodeids, my interest has been growing with introductions to loads of US native species— “NANF” (North American Native Fish). These are temperate species. They do not require heaters. A few really appreciate _chillers_.

Well, I have kept some separate journals and posted various threads. I’ve bred a fair bit. But today, for the first time, I collected. I am going to try to transition some wild-caught Greenhead Shiners (Notropis chlorocephalus) over to my fishroom.

Here’s the scoop:

Collection site (undisclosed location near Asheville, NC) a small mountain creek in the Catawba River drainage…

I built this drilled cooler for transporting live-caught fish a week ago or so…

Today, it got its trial run! Cold packs added with creek water…

I have been adding ice from the hotel in bags to keep that water chilled. It was painfully, painfully cold where we caught the fish. 

Tomorrow, I drive home. But maybe I will land a couple of these Gilt Darters before I head out…

804E8D91-84A7-46FE-B3B5-E930B3943335.jpeg.978ff9f4d33bebaaf282d30d5842497e.jpeg

Anyway, if everyone makes it home safely, I hope to slowly… slowly… slowly… acclimate them to our water, and move the fish into this aquarium…

Stay tuned!

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Omg I am so exciting for this! I desperately want a biotope of all North American plants and fish some day! It was part of why I got into the hobby (or how my buddy convinced me to get into it, or I convinced myself). Those are the most beautiful fish.

 

I also joined Nanfa. I just really appreciate this post. 

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On 3/16/2023 at 10:27 PM, Fish Folk said:

This is a journal about catching, keeping, trying to spawn, and raising US native fish.

For context… I have really enjoyed expanding my aquarium hobby over the last few years. From standard tropical species, into some slightly less-common Killis and Goodeids, my interest has been growing with introductions to loads of US native species— “NANF” (North American Native Fish). These are temperate species. They do not require heaters. A few really appreciate _chillers_.

Well, I have kept some separate journals and posted various threads. I’ve bred a fair bit. But today, for the first time, I collected. I am going to try to transition some wild-caught Greenhead Shiners (Notropis chlorocephalus) over to my fishroom.

Here’s the scoop:

Collection site (undisclosed location near Asheville, NC) a small mountain creek in the Catawba River drainage…

I built this drilled cooler for transporting live-caught fish a week ago or so…

Today, it got its trial run! Cold packs added with creek water…

I have been adding ice from the hotel in bags to keep that water chilled. It was painfully, painfully cold where we caught the fish. 

Tomorrow, I drive home. But maybe I will land a couple of these Gilt Darters before I head out…

804E8D91-84A7-46FE-B3B5-E930B3943335.jpeg.978ff9f4d33bebaaf282d30d5842497e.jpeg

Anyway, if everyone makes it home safely, I hope to slowly… slowly… slowly… acclimate them to our water, and move the fish into this aquarium…

Stay tuned!

Those are some awesome videos, I made me a ice chest fish tank last year 
that has a battery air pump & I love it, for when I'm out fishing or at the 
pet store looking for fish or taking fish to the pet store, they are very handy.

I hope to get another 75 gal tank sometime in a few mons for extra plant's 
cause my 1st 75 I want to keep for fish to watch right at my computer desk
where I sit 95% of the day during cold nasty weather days, talk with you later.

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Another wonderful part of the little trip to catch NANF in NC was a visit over to Knoxville, TN. We did not try to catch any fish there, but we greatly enjoyed the onset of spring…

7AA32EA1-D3C7-412A-A106-D88F02EAACC9.jpeg.9a736b4cdeda6f91653ac2a8f8690ae6.jpeg
 

352CBF17-0806-4FC7-B89E-B516EAD4FA71.jpeg.710c55c6e203a504f03759e18fb7d7af.jpeg

29FF346A-1108-4E3D-9F8E-58BEA29BB5DF.jpeg.fba664ca5ddcec2dc0f6e52fe9970a39.jpeg

My son spotted a very rare bird for the area (Hydrocoloeus minutus)…

3A0F87E4-8404-4EE5-8D4D-B4356DE8BA9E.jpeg.478c8df7a961ad9891ef64b938a27b26.jpeg
 

52AE468F-4901-47E1-92AC-D50D3F11BE41.jpeg.2b86b43aca4f43c1887ce05e3f9b882a.jpeg

C77230D1-CE54-4F2E-8158-BEC799862C6A.jpeg.456a4924bb33be262098314cff485bd6.jpeg

And most importantly, we spent about 4x glorious hours touring Conservation Fisheries, where endangered US fish are professionally propagated in captivity, tagged, and reintroduced to the wild. I took no photos or video — wanted to just be in the moment and respect the hosts — but it was unreal. Totally blew my mind open…

4518D272-2529-42B8-AFAA-2A88593C1696.jpeg.35a971115fab5de206e1cc04c8a58981.jpeg

Here are just a few of the endangered amazing US natives we saw that they are breeding…


EC2A1D51-8371-4DA3-9262-3F7F606EC5C5.jpeg.be8b3b951f2cbaaff7d4a1fe91e148a4.jpeg

85B0A6B6-556C-48C3-92A9-94499CF6C6F1.jpeg.bfdc57ee4ef07dcd69ac67cc7698abca.jpeg

E387E3BE-8D45-47DE-9C04-DD7ACE7B83FA.jpeg.afc8fd17dff1f8a1b5a74d2005d453bb.jpeg

C8CAB6F8-2117-47EF-A255-081676CC4A66.jpeg.f8eee5f0fc7e901a5af63a60f041ef95.jpeg

AEF718AD-3BD8-4B9E-BCD1-5158B9112A14.jpeg.5af75088bdfc5ab724f7dd94c1ae1bfb.jpeg

A6CCB2E5-FD89-4DB5-8031-CFF90F5721F8.jpeg.01cdd6537d20aba197a84015ad649279.jpeg

2EF9AAAE-D8FE-42BA-A92A-CDF1161E32A4.jpeg.91f731743208bda4821d4668c3154ae0.jpeg

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On 3/17/2023 at 7:10 AM, Fish Folk said:

Another wonderful part of the little trip to catch NANF in NC was a visit over to Knoxville, TN. We did not try to catch any fish there, but we greatly enjoyed the onset of spring…

7AA32EA1-D3C7-412A-A106-D88F02EAACC9.jpeg.9a736b4cdeda6f91653ac2a8f8690ae6.jpeg
 

352CBF17-0806-4FC7-B89E-B516EAD4FA71.jpeg.710c55c6e203a504f03759e18fb7d7af.jpeg

29FF346A-1108-4E3D-9F8E-58BEA29BB5DF.jpeg.fba664ca5ddcec2dc0f6e52fe9970a39.jpeg

My son spotted a very rare bird for the area (Hydrocoloeus minutus)…

3A0F87E4-8404-4EE5-8D4D-B4356DE8BA9E.jpeg.478c8df7a961ad9891ef64b938a27b26.jpeg
 

52AE468F-4901-47E1-92AC-D50D3F11BE41.jpeg.2b86b43aca4f43c1887ce05e3f9b882a.jpeg

C77230D1-CE54-4F2E-8158-BEC799862C6A.jpeg.456a4924bb33be262098314cff485bd6.jpeg

And most importantly, we spent about 4x glorious hours touring Conservation Fisheries, where endangered US fish are professionally propagated in captivity, tagged, and reintroduced to the wild. I took no photos or video — wanted to just be in the moment and respect the hosts — but it was unreal. Totally blew my mind open…

4518D272-2529-42B8-AFAA-2A88593C1696.jpeg.35a971115fab5de206e1cc04c8a58981.jpeg

Here are just a few of the endangered amazing US natives we saw that they are breeding…


EC2A1D51-8371-4DA3-9262-3F7F606EC5C5.jpeg.be8b3b951f2cbaaff7d4a1fe91e148a4.jpeg

85B0A6B6-556C-48C3-92A9-94499CF6C6F1.jpeg.bfdc57ee4ef07dcd69ac67cc7698abca.jpeg

E387E3BE-8D45-47DE-9C04-DD7ACE7B83FA.jpeg.afc8fd17dff1f8a1b5a74d2005d453bb.jpeg

C8CAB6F8-2117-47EF-A255-081676CC4A66.jpeg.f8eee5f0fc7e901a5af63a60f041ef95.jpeg

AEF718AD-3BD8-4B9E-BCD1-5158B9112A14.jpeg.5af75088bdfc5ab724f7dd94c1ae1bfb.jpeg

A6CCB2E5-FD89-4DB5-8031-CFF90F5721F8.jpeg.01cdd6537d20aba197a84015ad649279.jpeg

2EF9AAAE-D8FE-42BA-A92A-CDF1161E32A4.jpeg.91f731743208bda4821d4668c3154ae0.jpeg

these fish are amazing!

they are colorful, or cute (like the catfish).

how did they never get popular in the hobby? (well...probably laws).

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On 3/17/2023 at 7:13 AM, Theplatymaster said:

these fish are amazing!

they are colorful, or cute (like the catfish).

how did they never get popular in the hobby? (well...probably laws).

So, these particular US natives are endangered. But there are many, many more that are not endangered. I highly recommend looking into loads of species. I like buying mine here, though sometimes you can find them on AquaBid.

So far, we have kept all of these…

C1032231-B8D9-4524-B12D-E931F4A26FF9.jpeg.5cb6324f20c863a8df336aaf64494337.jpeg

C92A03AA-FA67-451A-A2E3-573415525305.jpeg.15cf4d8c5ce0e7e16edd6bb240081689.jpeg

8E774BA0-F042-44F3-AACF-3F287807945F.jpeg.7e8db0af4141774f4ca1ebc3d9565153.jpeg

7130267C-A8C3-47B7-BF18-77C1725E24D9.jpeg.24713a00d3cc423d07f0473069e3c7dd.jpeg

61C88F4C-F061-4313-B7A5-CC116B8931E5.jpeg.a4b9ed21919b79d1d62449fce28e19d2.jpeg

9846C0B2-9FF9-423F-89CF-FABAC63493B0.jpeg.0bf85b187a8fe6a12c76dabdd74fb74b.jpeg

9C72D54E-3ACD-49AA-B3BF-19B1C693DE8B.jpeg.13d258f9cfdc79de160e690391014341.jpeg

98EBD150-1026-4446-A44C-187052C52FBE.jpeg.84998e471f70059eb42680fe3ce8f102.jpeg

34B0B122-9D24-4FA3-AD7A-6C01D8636BC5.jpeg.3b483b8062d793c46b1ba897f8415d9e.jpeg

On 3/17/2023 at 7:25 AM, AquaHobbyist123 said:

Glad you got your Greenhead Shiners! Out of curiosity, what other species did you come across during your search?

Warpaint shiners, some Stonerollers, an endemic sucker species, several other species of Darter — Sewanee Darter, Jonny Darter, Tessellated Darter, juvenile trout sp., and more I can’t remember them all 😅

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On 3/17/2023 at 7:10 AM, Fish Folk said:

Another wonderful part of the little trip to catch NANF in NC was a visit over to Knoxville, TN. We did not try to catch any fish there, but we greatly enjoyed the onset of spring…

7AA32EA1-D3C7-412A-A106-D88F02EAACC9.jpeg.9a736b4cdeda6f91653ac2a8f8690ae6.jpeg
 

352CBF17-0806-4FC7-B89E-B516EAD4FA71.jpeg.710c55c6e203a504f03759e18fb7d7af.jpeg

29FF346A-1108-4E3D-9F8E-58BEA29BB5DF.jpeg.fba664ca5ddcec2dc0f6e52fe9970a39.jpeg

My son spotted a very rare bird for the area (Hydrocoloeus minutus)…

3A0F87E4-8404-4EE5-8D4D-B4356DE8BA9E.jpeg.478c8df7a961ad9891ef64b938a27b26.jpeg
 

52AE468F-4901-47E1-92AC-D50D3F11BE41.jpeg.2b86b43aca4f43c1887ce05e3f9b882a.jpeg

C77230D1-CE54-4F2E-8158-BEC799862C6A.jpeg.456a4924bb33be262098314cff485bd6.jpeg

And most importantly, we spent about 4x glorious hours touring Conservation Fisheries, where endangered US fish are professionally propagated in captivity, tagged, and reintroduced to the wild. I took no photos or video — wanted to just be in the moment and respect the hosts — but it was unreal. Totally blew my mind open…

4518D272-2529-42B8-AFAA-2A88593C1696.jpeg.35a971115fab5de206e1cc04c8a58981.jpeg

Here are just a few of the endangered amazing US natives we saw that they are breeding…


EC2A1D51-8371-4DA3-9262-3F7F606EC5C5.jpeg.be8b3b951f2cbaaff7d4a1fe91e148a4.jpeg

85B0A6B6-556C-48C3-92A9-94499CF6C6F1.jpeg.bfdc57ee4ef07dcd69ac67cc7698abca.jpeg

E387E3BE-8D45-47DE-9C04-DD7ACE7B83FA.jpeg.afc8fd17dff1f8a1b5a74d2005d453bb.jpeg

C8CAB6F8-2117-47EF-A255-081676CC4A66.jpeg.f8eee5f0fc7e901a5af63a60f041ef95.jpeg

AEF718AD-3BD8-4B9E-BCD1-5158B9112A14.jpeg.5af75088bdfc5ab724f7dd94c1ae1bfb.jpeg

A6CCB2E5-FD89-4DB5-8031-CFF90F5721F8.jpeg.01cdd6537d20aba197a84015ad649279.jpeg

2EF9AAAE-D8FE-42BA-A92A-CDF1161E32A4.jpeg.91f731743208bda4821d4668c3154ae0.jpeg

O M Lord ! ! ! those fish are MIND BOGGLING stunning 
it's amazing how Our sweet lord put such animals on earth 
for others to admire & enjoy in our lifetime, I seen a few I
wouldn't mind having in my tank, just for the colors & size.

I'm not into the breeding, I lost interest with the guppies 
I'm more looking to have something to enjoy looking at 
to put my thoughts in a better place & admire the fish.

Good luck with your task at hand your working on &
may all your hard work pay off in what your looking for.

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On 3/17/2023 at 7:28 AM, Fish Folk said:

So, these particular US natives are endangered. But there are many, many more that are not endangered. I highly recommend looking into loads of species. I like buying mine here, though sometimes you can find them on AquaBid.

 

dont tempt me.

my tank is already overstocked from platies alone,

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If you want a day trip and some shrimp just head down to the estuaries and catch some grass shrimp!

 

or maybe raise your own crabs!🤤🤤🤤🤤

On 3/17/2023 at 7:10 AM, Fish Folk said:

Another wonderful part of the little trip to catch NANF in NC was a visit over to Knoxville, TN. We did not try to catch any fish there, but we greatly enjoyed the onset of spring…

7AA32EA1-D3C7-412A-A106-D88F02EAACC9.jpeg.9a736b4cdeda6f91653ac2a8f8690ae6.jpeg
 

352CBF17-0806-4FC7-B89E-B516EAD4FA71.jpeg.710c55c6e203a504f03759e18fb7d7af.jpeg

29FF346A-1108-4E3D-9F8E-58BEA29BB5DF.jpeg.fba664ca5ddcec2dc0f6e52fe9970a39.jpeg

My son spotted a very rare bird for the area (Hydrocoloeus minutus)…

3A0F87E4-8404-4EE5-8D4D-B4356DE8BA9E.jpeg.478c8df7a961ad9891ef64b938a27b26.jpeg
 

52AE468F-4901-47E1-92AC-D50D3F11BE41.jpeg.2b86b43aca4f43c1887ce05e3f9b882a.jpeg

C77230D1-CE54-4F2E-8158-BEC799862C6A.jpeg.456a4924bb33be262098314cff485bd6.jpeg

And most importantly, we spent about 4x glorious hours touring Conservation Fisheries, where endangered US fish are professionally propagated in captivity, tagged, and reintroduced to the wild. I took no photos or video — wanted to just be in the moment and respect the hosts — but it was unreal. Totally blew my mind open…

4518D272-2529-42B8-AFAA-2A88593C1696.jpeg.35a971115fab5de206e1cc04c8a58981.jpeg

Here are just a few of the endangered amazing US natives we saw that they are breeding…


EC2A1D51-8371-4DA3-9262-3F7F606EC5C5.jpeg.be8b3b951f2cbaaff7d4a1fe91e148a4.jpeg

85B0A6B6-556C-48C3-92A9-94499CF6C6F1.jpeg.bfdc57ee4ef07dcd69ac67cc7698abca.jpeg

E387E3BE-8D45-47DE-9C04-DD7ACE7B83FA.jpeg.afc8fd17dff1f8a1b5a74d2005d453bb.jpeg

C8CAB6F8-2117-47EF-A255-081676CC4A66.jpeg.f8eee5f0fc7e901a5af63a60f041ef95.jpeg

AEF718AD-3BD8-4B9E-BCD1-5158B9112A14.jpeg.5af75088bdfc5ab724f7dd94c1ae1bfb.jpeg

A6CCB2E5-FD89-4DB5-8031-CFF90F5721F8.jpeg.01cdd6537d20aba197a84015ad649279.jpeg

2EF9AAAE-D8FE-42BA-A92A-CDF1161E32A4.jpeg.91f731743208bda4821d4668c3154ae0.jpeg

You can get nonthreatend madtoms!

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Here we go! Wild-caught Catawba Greenhead Shiners, a few F1 Fireyblack juveniles from a friend, and 4x wild-caught Darters (1x male, 3x females) of uncertain species. Acclimated all night. Finally added…

 

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