A US native fish tank?

Have you ever wondered about keeping small fish you have seen in local rivers and streams?

The hobby of collecting “Native” fish species can be fascinating and rewarding.

Many years ago, I ordered a small selection of books from FAMA (Freshwater and Marine Aquarium Magazine) a publication that is long gone.  Among the books I received was a book called “A Net full of Natives, some North American fishes”, by Tom Baugh.  After glancing through the book,  I was hooked.

I devoured it and discovered that there are some amazing fish right here in our own rivers and streams.

A second book I purchased (Now also out of print) “North American Native Fishes for the home Aquarium” by David M. Schleser. This book is written with the aquarium hobbyist in mind and touches on species that are commonly available as well as many that are legally collectable and that will live in the home aquarium without a heater.

Maybe you did not realize it but some of the fish you already keep are/were native species.

Fish such as Sailfish Molly’s are from the eastern US (And Mexico) The Texas Cichlid, the Bind Cave Tetra, the Florida Flagfish. Also, some bait and tackle shops sell live “Minnows” many times in those fish tanks are some real jewels and these amazing fish are many times sold as “feeder” fish as well.

In July 2003 TFH (Tropical Fish Hobbyist) magazine did an entire issue on Native Fishes for the home aquarium and featured some really amazing “Darter” fish from the Eastern US. IF your interested in taking your hobby of fish keeping in a different direction and would like to try something interesting that you can involve your kids in. why not consider making a family adventure to the local river, collect and keep some of the fascinating small species of river fish?  

Notes: Keep in mind that any fish that is a game fish (Something that you can catch on tackle) would require a fishing license to catch and possess - with the idea of keeping native fish in mind ALWAYS check local and state laws that could govern the collection and keeping of any native fish.

Lastly; Never release ANY fish back into a river that has been in your home aquarium, the results of this could be devastating for local fish populations; because of  diseases and due to the fact that Non-Native fish released in native rivers and streams can totally ruin the ecosystem and cause damage to the environment, we never want the aquarium fish hobby to be blamed for anything like this!

We started a new project here at Finatics. We are setting up a 120 Gallon Native species fish tank.

These will not necessarily be only Washington state native species but they will be US native species.

There are some amazing live bearers and some Chub and Shiner that look as good as many of the schooling tetras you normally see for sale.

 

The Aquarium is a 120 Gallon “Show” with a Fluval FX5 filter (607gph) running a Chiller at 65f.

What we are planning to display in this tank;  Darters, shiners, chub and top minnows and maybe other species as well. We would like to also display some native Radar  Crayfish species if compatible.

We plan to add native plants, wood and much more rock to the tank as it seeds.

 

 So as time goes on and your in the shop, stop by and check out our “All-American” fish display, and if your interested in obtaining native species and doing this yourself, let us know we have a fantastic source for fish and advice.