I never have much luck with chubsuckers in aquariums.
According to Mark Binkley, chubsuckers feed mostly on crustaceans and
other aquatic inverts. The ones that went into the pond evidently
prospered and grew fat on a diet of scuds and aescullus whose
populations exploded as a result of the barley straw being used for
algae control. That is also no doubt supplemented by the various types
of aquatic earthworms - the blackworms that probably came from the pet
store and a larger pinkish worm like a small garden worm that lives in
the soil in which the pond plants are grown. Also there are lots of
bloodworms (midge larvae) that live in the biofilms that form on the
pond liner and the undersides of lily pads.
I was origionally concerned that the chubsuckers would have trouble
adapting to the softer water of my pond having come out of the
calcarious waters of Lake Gentian. Yet they made it and seem to be doing
well. I don't think my main pond is big enough to sustain a viable
population of these fish, but in a year or so I hope to have a much
bigger one - big enough for people to swim in! That ought to be room
enough to accomodate a these and a really decent population of native
fishes.
Jeff
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