Hi, Tbox. I signed up for this forum just to respond to your thread. I live at the base of the Wind River Range, and I have been kicking around a similar idea for a "Foothills Creek" biotope tank. If you extend your species choice outside Yellowstone Park (and you could--yellowstone cuts are native to big parts of the state, not just the park), you can have a lot more variety. If you go for non-game species, you only have to buy a minnow trapping/keeping permit from Game and Fish and you're good to go. I know because I kept native fish for a long time, and finally asked a game warden how to make it legal.
For game species, you would need a stocking permit, which you have to apply for. This can be hard to pull off, but here's my advice: Do your homework, and come up with a detailed plan for your tank. Then get in touch with a fisheries biologist at one of the Game and Fish offices in the state. Tell them what you want to do. They'll send you the application, and a list of hatcheries you can purchase from once your request is approved.
As further food for thought, here is my plan. The native species aren't all that colorful, but they more than make up for it with fascinating behavior. It is extremely fun to watch a tank of wild-caught native at feeding time--it's like piranhas on a dead cow!
Anyway, here's my overall concept. You can google the fish names for more info: I chose them for looks, interesting behavior, and the role they play in the ecosystem. I have personal experience keeping all of them except the sculpin (which I hear require live foods) and the trout. My personal favorites, in the aquarium, are flathead chubs and longnose dace. They have lots of personality.
The Foothills Creek Biotope
Setup:
150 or 200 Gallon Tank
Mirrored or rock background
Dark brown gravel substrate
Large canister filter; several powerheads concealed among rocks providing moderately strong current; several
large bubblers for aeration and aesthetics
Chiller that will keep water between 50 and 60F
Decorated with:
--black or red shale forming a “waterfall” shelf in one back corner;
--one or two big branches of sagebrush driftwood embedded in the sand to make it look like an intermittent stream.
--A mule deer skull or shed elk antler, and a few beaver stumps on top of the waterfall.
Plants: I can’t find any information on native aquatic plants of Wyoming. Here are some I have observed that I would like to try:
A broadleaf, bright/pale green, shortish plant (pond weed? Cress?) that thrives in flowing ditches
A short, cabomba-like plant that grows in dense beds in the shallows of tributaries of the Sweetwater
A narrow, grass-like plant (narrowleaf pondweed? Some sort of val?) that grows in ponds; plant in sheltered spots or opposite from the powerheads.
Fish (minnow permits required from Game and Fish for non-game species; stocking permit required for trout)—some combination of the following:
5 Mountain Sucker
2 Mottled or Piute skulpin
3 Longnose Dace
12 Red Shiner
7 Golden shiner or silvery minnows
3 Flathead chub
2 Yellowstone cutthroat trout (least piscivorous of the trout, so the other fish would be relatively safe; also, this area’s only native trout species)
6 Plains Killifish
That's probably waaaaay more than enough, but hey, you asked for info! Now you have a bunch more. Good luck!
Tom
