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.
