Fish Folk Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 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… 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! 4 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miska Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 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. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying fox 6523 Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 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… 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted March 17, 2023 Author Share Posted March 17, 2023 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… My son spotted a very rare bird for the area (Hydrocoloeus minutus)… 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… Here are just a few of the endangered amazing US natives we saw that they are breeding… 1 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theplatymaster Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 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… My son spotted a very rare bird for the area (Hydrocoloeus minutus)… 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… Here are just a few of the endangered amazing US natives we saw that they are breeding… these fish are amazing! they are colorful, or cute (like the catfish). how did they never get popular in the hobby? (well...probably laws). 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaHobbyist123 Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 Glad you got your Greenhead Shiners! Out of curiosity, what other species did you come across during your search? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted March 17, 2023 Author Share Posted March 17, 2023 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… 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 😅 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying fox 6523 Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 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… My son spotted a very rare bird for the area (Hydrocoloeus minutus)… 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… Here are just a few of the endangered amazing US natives we saw that they are breeding… 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theplatymaster Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 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, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The endler guy Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 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… My son spotted a very rare bird for the area (Hydrocoloeus minutus)… 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… Here are just a few of the endangered amazing US natives we saw that they are breeding… You can get nonthreatend madtoms! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted March 18, 2023 Author Share Posted March 18, 2023 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… 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted March 21, 2023 Author Share Posted March 21, 2023 Firing up a bit today! 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaHobbyist123 Posted March 21, 2023 Share Posted March 21, 2023 Nice! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted April 16, 2023 Author Share Posted April 16, 2023 Catawba Greenhead Shiners getting frisky here as spring sets in… 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted April 19, 2023 Author Share Posted April 19, 2023 Several of the Notropis chlorocephalus were really fired up last night. No eggs yet… 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted April 21, 2023 Author Share Posted April 21, 2023 Just learned about this last week. This stream, 10-mins away from us, is reportedly loaded with Rainbow Darters! Goin’ fishin’!!! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 How awesome is that! I can’t wait to see what other goodies you find there. It’s beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted April 29, 2023 Author Share Posted April 29, 2023 (edited) My wild-caught (F0) Tessellated Darters from NC have been acting like they might spawn. I have today added a shell from the outer banks to act as a possible cave for them. Girls checked it out… I am told they like to be able to get in and turn upside down . Edited April 29, 2023 by Fish Folk 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted April 29, 2023 Share Posted April 29, 2023 That looks like a deluxe honeymoon suite. I hope they spawn for you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torrey Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 On 3/16/2023 at 8:27 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… 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! That crick looks awfully familiar! I'm glad you had some success, and I love your adjustments to the cooler. I recently (April 4th - April 29th) drove from NM to NC, and collected some inverts and plants, as well as brought back 4 of my BiL's WCMM for the porch pond this year. We knew we would not have regular access to power (we camped at Kerr, Falls, and Meeman-Shelby), so opted for plants providing filtration and oxygenation with an LED light on a 4 hour timer. The WCMM aren't as sensitive to lower O2 as NANF, however, but the traveling method was sound: water stayed below 61° F in the cooler, LED light definitely grew the plants in the water with the fish, and the fish never came up to the top except when bugs went to check out a potential water source. My 4' tank isn't ready for NANF yet.... but we are definitely closer! By the time I am done, it will be a complete little biotope, and hopefully have enough live food reproducing in the tank for long term success. Thank you for posting so much helpful information, my spouse is actually excited for "what's coming next?!?" and willingly went camping with me to observe naturally occurring water ways. It was too cold and too rainy to camp in Asheville, so my folx surprised us with 3 nights at a hotel, nestled between 2 creeks, and a local FSW employee friend to show me what I can wild collect (legally) and what I can't. More trips in the future, and a few more adjustments to the fish cooler, we should be good to go! Maybe we can coordinate a "meet in NC to collect" sometime? I would love to introduce you to my BiL, he used to collect for the NC Museum of Natural History and Science. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted May 5, 2023 Author Share Posted May 5, 2023 On 5/4/2023 at 9:24 PM, Torrey said: That crick looks awfully familiar! I'm glad you had some success, and I love your adjustments to the cooler. I recently (April 4th - April 29th) drove from NM to NC, and collected some inverts and plants, as well as brought back 4 of my BiL's WCMM for the porch pond this year. We knew we would not have regular access to power (we camped at Kerr, Falls, and Meeman-Shelby), so opted for plants providing filtration and oxygenation with an LED light on a 4 hour timer. The WCMM aren't as sensitive to lower O2 as NANF, however, but the traveling method was sound: water stayed below 61° F in the cooler, LED light definitely grew the plants in the water with the fish, and the fish never came up to the top except when bugs went to check out a potential water source. My 4' tank isn't ready for NANF yet.... but we are definitely closer! By the time I am done, it will be a complete little biotope, and hopefully have enough live food reproducing in the tank for long term success. Thank you for posting so much helpful information, my spouse is actually excited for "what's coming next?!?" and willingly went camping with me to observe naturally occurring water ways. It was too cold and too rainy to camp in Asheville, so my folx surprised us with 3 nights at a hotel, nestled between 2 creeks, and a local FSW employee friend to show me what I can wild collect (legally) and what I can't. More trips in the future, and a few more adjustments to the fish cooler, we should be good to go! Maybe we can coordinate a "meet in NC to collect" sometime? I would love to introduce you to my BiL, he used to collect for the NC Museum of Natural History and Science. Awesome! We collected about 45 min away from Ashville, NC. Could have gone for these Gilt Darters 15 min outside Ashville, but my kids were ready to knock me off already 🤣 We did enjoy Knoxville, TN. Saw them breeding these at Conservation Fisheries there… I brought home 5-6 juveniles of these (F1, bred by a guy at CF)… 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H20 Plecos Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 Wow that's amazing 🤩 I want to get out in the wildlife to catch some, in due time. Have to get my home set up since I'm moving. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted May 9, 2023 Author Share Posted May 9, 2023 Outside in the creek with my lads… Caught some very, very local Blue Ridge Sculpins… And a Blacknose Dace in spawning colors… 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted May 11, 2023 Share Posted May 11, 2023 On 3/17/2023 at 4:10 AM, Fish Folk said: It's crazy how they can be separated by an ocean from their west African counterparts and yet look so similar. I'd definitely volunteer to help breed them for conservation but I'm sure that's not how that works... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted May 11, 2023 Author Share Posted May 11, 2023 On 5/11/2023 at 10:21 AM, Schuyler said: It's crazy how they can be separated by an ocean from their west African counterparts and yet look so similar. I'd definitely volunteer to help breed them for conservation but I'm sure that's not how that works... Interestingly, these are fairly available in the European Killifish community because someone shared a few pairs from TN way back in … maybe … 1960s (??) You really cannot get permission to keep in US without a govt. grant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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