Re: NANFA-- PNW minnows in aquaria, was native fish trivia question

Norman Edelen (normane_at_edelendoors.com)
Fri, 14 Apr 2000 18:09:32 -0700

Actually, a minnow that I really enjoy keeping is the chiselmouth. They
have a modified lower lip that they use to rasp algae off rocks, etc. They
do this in an aquarium (although they too will eat anything thrown into the
tank), so, are interesting to watch. Juveniles are readily captured
schooling with redside shiners, juvenile peamouth, and juvenile pike
minnows. Occasionally some the Rhinicthys spp. will also be found
schooling with the above minnows. All these minnows can make a nice
display, particularly with a few juvenile suckers added, and perhaps a
sculpin or two.

Norm

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----- Original Message -----
From: Norman Edelen <normane_at_edelendoors.com>
To: <nanfa_at_aquaria.net>
Sent: Friday, April 14, 2000 6:04 PM
Subject: Re: NANFA-- native fish trivia question

I have kept peamouth juveniles in a 55 gallon aquarium with undergravel
filters and powerheads. No problem. They eat voraciously, whether fed
flakes, pellets, or live foods, and school with the redside shiners. They
really have little color, but then few fish in the PNW do.

Norm

-----------------------------------------------------------------
A proud member of
The Greater Portland Aquarium Society
www.gpas.org
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The North American Native Fishes Association: over
20 years of conservation efforts, public education, and
aquarium study of our native fishes. Check it out at
www.nanfa.org

----- Original Message -----
From: Christopher Scharpf <ichthos_at_charm.net>
To: NANFA Mailing List <nanfa_at_aquaria.net>
Sent: Friday, April 14, 2000 4:15 AM
Subject: Re: NANFA-- native fish trivia question

<< What native North American minnow is the only minnow in the country (if
<< not the world) that naturally inhabits coastal islands?
>
>
>The peamouth (Mylocheilus caurinus).
>
>Richard Hopper

You are correct, sir!

The peamouth is native to Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, mainland
British
Columbia, and on BC's coastal islands near Nanaimo and on the west side of
Vancouver Island. The peamouth is one of the few minnows in the world that
can
tolerate salt water. How it reached the BC islands, however, is something of
a
mystery. The peamouth's ability to live in salt water (usually an impassable
barrier to freshwater fishes) probably allowed it to survive riding a plume
of
brackish water from the Fraser River estuary on mainland British Columbia
across
the Strait of Georgia to Vancouver Island. How the peamouth reached the west
coast of Vancouver Island is even more of a mystery. Since it occurs in
Ozette
Lake on the Olympic Peninsula of northwestern Washington, it's possible the
peamouth crossed over during the last glaciation when melting ice sheets
decreased the salinity of the Pacific Ocean coast and Juan de Fuca Strait.

As far as I know, there are no published references about the aquarium care
of
this handsome fish with the red lower lip. Despite growing to 14", nothing
about
its biology indicates it woul be difficult to keep.

Do any of the northwesterners on this list have any experience with the
peamouth?

Chris Scharpf
Baltimore

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/----------------------------------------------------------------------------- /"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily / reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes / Association" / This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association / nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word / subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to / nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to / nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead. / For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org