Rainbow darters

[keegster803]

Hey guys, just got back from creek stomping, and caught these two colorful little guys. I'm putting them in my CPD and Pygmy Cory tank.


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[keegster803]

It won't let me post pictures for some reason


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[Nils]

Very nice! Lucky that you have some up there. I don't know of any small native fish here in NC, plus I don't live near any stream/river that would have them. They are cool though, hope they are easy to keep for you!

 

[Fresh2o]

There appears to be an issue with uploading (and possibly viewing) images. It has been reported to the appropriate folks.


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[keegster803]

I hope it clears up soon. And I found out that these guys won't accept flakes at all. But they gladly take black worms, lucky for me I had the remnants of a culture left, they devoured that thing like a pack of wolves. They are doing really well, they readily aclimated to my water conditions. I put in a bubbler to my tank, as the powerhead I had, would've blown the CPDs against the tank wall and killed them, had it happen before, but they seem to be doing really well.


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[keegster803]

Alright, I looked in the tank this morning, and the rainbows were sitting their "showing off" to me, lol, they sat there flashing all their fins, showing off their beautiful finnage, I really wish I could post pics for you guys to see, these guys are absolutely stunning!


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[Fresh2o]

I think the CPDs and darters come from different habitats (different continents, of course). Meaning, the darters will probably enjoy cooler temps and higher flow rates than the CPDs.
Can you describe the place where the darters were collected? River? Stream? Water depth? Clarity? Current? Sand, gravel, rocky, silty bottom? Just curious. Long ago I collected some Johnny Darters along a shallow offshoot of a river. Less than a foot deep, sandy with some current. They enjoyed live brine shrimp. They did not survive more than a month. Probably too little current, poor water conditions and inadequate diet.
Sounds like you have some colorful specimens.


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[keegster803]

I think the CPDs and darters come from different habitats (different continents, of course). Meaning, the darters will probably enjoy cooler temps and higher flow rates than the CPDs.
Can you describe the place where the darters were collected? River? Stream? Water depth? Clarity? Current? Sand, gravel, rocky, silty bottom? Just curious. Long ago I collected some Johnny Darters along a shallow offshoot of a river. Less than a foot deep, sandy with some current. They enjoyed live brine shrimp. They did not survive more than a month. Probably too little current, poor water conditions and inadequate diet.
Sounds like you have some colorful specimens.


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I got mine in a local creek, in a Local park that I work at, they were in a stream with a gravel bottom and it was mixed with sand, it was only about 6-7 inches deep, the water was crystal clear. The tank in my room has no heater and the house is kept at the low 70s but the CPDs seem to be doing rather well, and I was looking and the darters like temps between the low 60s to the low 70s and the temps barely overlap, but that is where I'm going to keep the temp so both species can live. But if it becomes a problem, then I might move the CPDs to the 10 where my occie pair is, as the pair is being moved into my 55


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[mudraker]

You might want to invest in some frozen blood worms and start a red wiggler colony for fish food.

Mine will eat freeze dried blood worms in a pinch.

They do well on frozen blood worms, and got absolutely stout when they were fed red wigglers I started growing in compost for fish food.

 

[keegster803]

You might want to invest in some frozen blood worms and start a red wiggler colony for fish food.

Mine will eat freeze dried blood worms in a pinch.

They do well on frozen blood worms, and got absolutely stout when they were fed red wigglers I started growing in compost for fish food.

Last night I bought two packs of hikari frozen blood worms. I'm going to feed the frozen block tonight and see if they take it. If not I'll feed them more black worms


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[keegster803]

I fed the block of bloodworms, and it was a frenzy, these guys love them so much. I'm thinking of getting a red wiggler colony setup, but I feel like my parents would hate the idea of a compost bin in our yard.


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[mudraker]

Backyard? I keep mine in my room, lol.

One advantage to being an old fart I guess. It's a surprisingly clean enterprise, and good for the environment.

But seriously, I hope the darters work out for you. I love them and they are like no other fish I know.

 

[keegster803]

Backyard? I keep mine in my room, lol.

One advantage to being an old fart I guess. It's a surprisingly clean enterprise, and good for the environment.

But seriously, I hope the darters work out for you. I love them and they are like no other fish I know.

I love them so much, they are so cool! I mean they actively hunt in the tank, and If they breed, I might feed the young strictly live food so they keep that behavior in the tank. And they just look really good too! And you have your colony in your room? That's pretty interesting, got any pics?


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[Fresh2o]

Post some pics of those darters when you get a chance. I think the image file upload issue has been resolved *fingers crossed*
A US native unheated riverine tank (30, 33, or 40 LONG) would be awesome with a group of darters.


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[keegster803]

Here's pics of them in the bag that I transported them in


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[keegster803]

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[keegster803]

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[brennae]

Wow those are so nice. I had no clue what a darter was but have been watching for pics.

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[keegster803]

Wow those are so nice. I had no clue what a darter was but have been watching for pics.

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Thanks, you should try some, they are really easy to keep, as long as you have live/frozen food available, some of the species here get really colorful, I think there are some up there by Lake Michigan, but I gotta check my natives book when I get home. They are really cool and they actively hunt in the tank, seeking out the worms that are left over from the previous night, it's pretty fun to watch.


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[brennae]

I have plenty of worms around! Many bodies of water are very polluted by me due to factories and steel mills.

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