Pros-Cons of collecting native fish -Darters

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that ones kinda cool...I'm sure tank/farmed fish can have many different versions that differ from wild (heck almost none of our fish look the same as their wild brethren), but then all my experience is with the wild versions of nebraska/kansas/colorado area...:lol: try walking into a bait shop with old timers and ask about cat fish names..there's only 3 kinds (not counting small stuff like bullheads) but you will get a bakers dozen names for them.

Oh, the three kinds are blue, channel and flathead..but each one has 5 or 6 names depending on who you ask (y)
 
that ones kinda cool...I'm sure tank/farmed fish can have many different versions that differ from wild (heck almost none of our fish look the same as their wild brethren), but then all my experience is with the wild versions of nebraska/kansas/colorado area...:lol: try walking into a bait shop with old timers and ask about cat fish names..there's only 3 kinds (not counting small stuff like bullheads) but you will get a bakers dozen names for them.

Oh, the three kinds are blue, channel and flathead..but each one has 5 or 6 names depending on who you ask (y)

Absolutely, lol. Where I used to live catfish were a pretty rare catch, and the few kinds we had were referred referred to as just 'catfish' since no one cared (except me!). I've seen the size of wild fish vary so much that I tend to just consider the max possible as a guideline for what size tank to keep it in to be on the safe side, even though a lot of captive fish probably won't see that size.

Presently on the fence about how many bullheads to get starting out. I know I'll end up with two at most down the road, but my favorite LFS is always pleased to take fish off my hands so I was thinking I might get 3 or 4 and keep the 1-2 most striking. I might get a couple of Lake Chubsuckers, I have a fancy for bronze-colored fish and this one really grabbed my interest.
 
Have you thought about getting a "real" goldfish?
Lifelist%20Pic.jpg

take just about anything for food and are pretty, I actually caught one once that was about 8 inches long and had no idea what it was (first time I had seen one) *Edit...btw its a golden shiner
 
That's an awesome color. I bet it'd look great under some high aquarium lighting - if I end up with room left over it's definitely on my radar now!
 
Yeah that's totally BA! Crazy how much beauty there is in our own backyard.
 
Wow folks, I expected hate mail over the original post. Northren Stud Fish are as bueatiful and diverse as Killies can get. Daters and Scalpins are so odd looking I would just have to have some. If you make rock ledges, they will reside at different levels where they are easy to see. Madtom catfish come in a lot of colors and sizes. Very cool little catfish.

Lets keep the chain going and see if we can get more takers on this thread.
 
I've been looking into keeping a native tank with Bullheads and Warmouths.

I've emailed them about getting a couple of bullheads and am eagerly awaiting a reply! I barely missed out on getting some locally that were a contaminant in a feeder shrimp shipment and Zimmermans seemed like one of the better places to try after I looked around.

Yeah I'm going to get a bullhead also. Just to warn you they sell their fish very small so it will be a while till they reach adult size and show good color. This is based on what the site says about size, they might have larger stock for sale also.

One thing to be aware of with bullheads is that they are extremely aggressive carnivores. If you place multiple bullhead fry in a single tank, even with lots of hiding places, you will eventually end up with one larger bullhead, as the others will most likely be lunch. There are very few things more impressive then dropping a bag of feeder minnows into a tank with a bullhead and watching it work its way through about half of them before it stops.

That is what I like too, baby to big. How many do you plan on having in your tank? I have an upside down catfish and I see him on average once a month. He hides and either never comes out or is out and about when I sleep.

Are bullheads an active fish or sedentary?

Generally very active at night and when there is food in the tank. Otherwise they like to hang out under rocks or in caves during the day.

From what I have seen in person, very active. When I observed a pair of black bullheads locally, they were constantly patrolling the tank for food - reminded me a lot of my Hoplo cats that never sit still for long.

I'm really looking forward to having browns - I hope to get some specimens with very distinct mottling like you see in the planet catfish photos of them. I'll probably start out with two or three babies, and plan to end up with 1 or 2 in the end. I was going to do a single black when I first decided I wanted natives, but they're just a bit too potentially big for me to want to deal with. Maybe some day! I'd take spotted bullheads too, if I could find them.

This is the image that made me fall in love with them.

that ones kinda cool...I'm sure tank/farmed fish can have many different versions that differ from wild (heck almost none of our fish look the same as their wild brethren), but then all my experience is with the wild versions of nebraska/kansas/colorado area...:lol: try walking into a bait shop with old timers and ask about cat fish names..there's only 3 kinds (not counting small stuff like bullheads) but you will get a bakers dozen names for them.

Oh, the three kinds are blue, channel and flathead..but each one has 5 or 6 names depending on who you ask (y)

In Wyoming we have bullheads, channel, and stonecats.

Wow folks, I expected hate mail over the original post. Northren Stud Fish are as bueatiful and diverse as Killies can get. Daters and Scalpins are so odd looking I would just have to have some. If you make rock ledges, they will reside at different levels where they are easy to see. Madtom catfish come in a lot of colors and sizes. Very cool little catfish.

Lets keep the chain going and see if we can get more takers on this thread.

Why? I've been doing natives for years, check out the link in my signature to the bog. There are quite a few members on this site that collect and have kept or do keep natives. As you stated, so long as you collect them legally, care for them properly and don't release them back into the wild, there is nothing wrong with keeping natives. Many natives are very colorful and active fish.
 
The bullhead's eating habits will be a fun challenge - I was able to break some of my predatory west african fish entirely of it and kept them with 1/2-1" fish while they were in the 5-7" range. I don't expect it to be an easy task, or even one that is necessarily obtainable, but I'm willing to see if such a seemingly stubborn (bullheaded, lol?) fish can be tamed in such a way.
 
Woo, order away!

I went with 2 bullheads and two chubsuckers from Zimmermans. I had the urge to pile on a Pumpkinseed and another bullhead but managed to restrain myself, lol. The planted QT/aqua garden tank is ready to hold them for a few weeks. Can't wait for them to get here.

I'm excited about the chubsuckers, but especially the cats. There's no better type of fish than a catfish!
 
+1 for pics I plan on ordering a bullhead and sunnies from them later in the year!
 
There will be many pics ;)

I'm a pretty bad photographer... so I can't guarantee the quality, lol. Maybe I should read up on how to take good fish pics, lol.

The only decision left now is which tank they're going to end up in after QT. Probably the 55 for the time being, but there's a 60 rimless cube I've been eyeballing at the LFS for a while now. Too bad it wouldn't be a permanent home, cause the tank itself is a thing of beauty. Put a buildmyled fixture over it... oh mercy.
 
You know chub suckers need cold water below 70 degrees at least right

All my tanks (tropical or otherwise) are unheated, it should be fine. Fish are way more adaptable to temperature, PH et cetera than people give them credit for, lol.
 
It's good to see others interested in natives! I have been keeping natives for years mostly sunfish and catfish. I currently have 1 longear sunfish, 1 largemouth bass, 1 red spotted sunfish, 1 black crappie , 2 warmouth, a bluegill, 2 green sunfish, a yellow bullhead and another catfish still too small to get a positive ID, and a small school of shiners and some grass shrimp all spread out through a couple of tanks. This is my longear he is definitely my favorite

image-1036346221.jpg
 
Those are some amazing colors!

My 2 bullheads and chubsuckers are due in Thursday. Much to my dismay, the quarantine they were destined for is now occupied by a sick goldfish. I'm going to have to pick up a used 29 gallon from somewhere to keep these guys in for the next couple weeks while I de-louse them.

Good thing I have a solid oak dresser that can support a fairly large tank in the bedroom lol, no need to buy a new stand.
 
I know! It's crazy to think you can catch a longear like that in a ditch down here.

But hey there's nothing wrong with having another tank, I know what you mean though I'm going build a stand for a 20gal long this weekend for my little brother. We couldn't find anything around the house strong enough to hold it
 
Brian Zimmerman is awesome - the fish were well packed, and all alive and active in the bags when they showed up.

He even sent me an extra brown bullhead! Pics of them in the bag aren't turning out at all, they never hold still. I'll have to wait for when they settle down into their holding tank tonight.
 
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