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hmm… darters in my native tank???

Magnum Man

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there is a rainbow darter, that coincidentally of the same color pallet as the shiners, but several species are available… I’m actually liking the green side darter, still colorful, but different colors than the shiner…


anyone play with these no swim bladder fish???
 
I personally like this one, after reading up on several…

IMG_0047.webp


 
They are very difficult fish, overall. You need a LOT of current. I have never caught them where the water wasn't hopping along. Even the lake ones like exile are found in the wave zones. The others I've encountered chose the moving water zones.
They were also very seasonal. They needed a cold period, and often only held their colours for the breeding period in the Spring. I had a very hard time interesting any of them in prepared foods - they were live food fish. Even frozen wasn't a first choice for them.
I kept caeruleum, exile, blennioides, and olmstedi. I had to catch them all myself to get them. Would I do it again? If I had a long shallow tank, maybe a 4 to 6 footer where I could have a strong current and could drop the temps to 3-4 degrees celsius over winter, yes. It would be a very special set up. No other fish. Live food.

There is one, Etheostoma spectabile, the orange throated darter that is said to be able to adjust to year round unheated aquarium temperatures. I've seen articles on it. None of the ones I kept could handle a winter at around 60f. Too warm,

I like reduced swim bladder fish, but now would stick with the African ones.
 

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