I heard about this really cool fish called the candy darter fish, and want a little more info. on it. Are they fin nippers? Can they be kept in a semi-aggressive tank? Any other facts would be much appreciated!
Candy Darter fish?
- Thread starter ppetropulo
- Start date
Oh, and how big of tank mates can they have? Do they even eat other fish? Do they like to eat eggs or fry?
http://www.jonahsaquarium.com/jonahsite/piceosburni02.htm
Not an easy one to find. There are other Darters at least that pretty (imo) that are fairly readily available. Try these, they're more commercially available:
Not an easy one to find. There are other Darters at least that pretty (imo) that are fairly readily available. Try these, they're more commercially available:
Darters generally require cooler water that's well oxygenated. Breeding them consistently is quite a trick indoors, since they require a winter cool down to get them into spawning condition. It's pretty easy to catch a pair in Feb or March and spawn them that season, if you don't mind catching fish in 45 F - 50 F water. They rarely take flakes or pellets but will take frozen and of course live foods, including fish tiny enough to swallow whole. I have a group of Tesselated Darters I caught last weekend. They're not as impressive as the ones pictured, but they can handle warmer temps. My part of PA got shafted on the pretty natives, but I believe 3 out of the 4 pics I posted are native to in the western part that drains into the Ohio River. In Colorado you're out of luck Darter wise, I believe. All 4 of the species I posted have been available at one time or another, along with other species at http://www.aquaculturestore.com/
Apparently there is a Darter species that has been introduced into CO, the Iowa Darter. It's natural range isn't too far from there either:http://nas2.er.usgs.gov/viewer/omap.aspx?SpeciesID=812
Wow! They're pretty colorful too! So, what would I feed that type of darter? I read that only grow to about 3 inches, so would I need to worry about them munching on my fish? Oh, and how do you catch them? Thanks for finding that for me!
Actually, Iowa darters are native to certain waterways in northeastern Colorado that flow into the Platte River Basin. I grew up in the northern Colorado/southeastern Wyoming region and have collected them on numerous occasions in both states. They have been introduced into alternate waterways in Colorado, however, which is where yer seein' the nonindigenous points on the map.
Johnny darters are another common darter native to the region, but they're a bit more widely distributed in Colorado than the Iowa darter. They're not as colorful, but their behavior is just as interesting. The males get darker and look like they have glitter on 'em during breeding season.
I've kept both species off and on over the years. Great little fish!
If yer not too far west or south, you could reasonably make a day trip to collect some, albeit a long day. Probly the easiest place to get Iowa darters in CO is the last 8 or 10 miles of the Laramie River before it flows into Wyoming. Late July through early September is the best time of the year to catch 'em, as the rivers drop. Quite a few fish get trapped in pools cut off from the main watercourse, and then become easy to net. Its been a few years since I collected anything in CO, though, so make sure ya check with the game and fish for possible restrictions if ya decide to give it a try.
Cheers,
WYite