Subject: Re: NANFA-L-- spotfin shiner question
From: Mark (nanfa-in-jonahsaquarium.com)
Date: Tue Nov 30 2004 - 21:26:12 CST
At 5:10 PM -0800 11/30/04, Lori Austin wrote:
>Hi folks,
>I reviewed the archives and see reference to spofin shiners being
>"aggressive feeders" or "beating each other up"...
>I have had a group of five for about a week now....they seem
>acclimated...now they are chasing each other constantly. Will this
>ever end? Will adding other species help? I have four fantails
>waiting in quarantine...I plan on adding brindled madtoms, one
>longear sunfish, a logperch, and two black stripe topminnows.
>thanks
>Mike
Well, your longear is likely to eliminate most of those others in the
long run, except the logperch and the madtom (since it will hide
well). That is unless you have a very large tank. And I think that
a large tank may also be the solution to your spotfin problems. That
and lower temps and shorter daylength - only keep the lights on for
maybe 9 hours a day, and block out any windows. Of course, this time
of year, all you have to do is adjust your indoor lighting, although
most of us keep our room lights on long after the sun goes down, so
you may have to block the windows anyway. Really, though, if you can
use a large tank, that should resolve much of this. You will have
healthier fish too.
I agree with Todd that it is important to sort your tankmates by
temperment to assure that everyone gets what they need.
Unfortunately there is very little info available on that so vital
subject for aquarists. Someday, I need to write a guidebook.
Basically, the more species you work with the more you will
understand about who can live with whom in close quarters. Remember
that habitats are partitioned in the wild, and these species are not
all in direct competition with each other. The bigger fish are in
deeper water. The smaller fish along the margins, the fast water
fish in the riffles, the slackwater fish in the vegetation, etc.
-- Mark Conejo Creek drainage California USA<))>< /----------------------------------------------------------------------- / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes / Association (NANFA). Comments made on this list do not necessarily / reflect the beliefs or goals of NANFA. For more information about NANFA, / visit http://www.nanfa.org . Please make sure all posts to nanfa-l are / consistent with the guidelines as per / http://www.nanfa.org/archive/nanfa/guidelines.html. To subscribe, / unsubscribe, or get help, visit the NANFA email list home page and / archive-in-http://www.nanfa.org/archive/nanfa/.
: Sat Jan 01 2005 - 12:41:44 CST