Re: NANFA-- Madtom myth put to rest

William Allen jr. (billandbonnie_at_peoplepc.com)
Tue, 1 May 2001 22:05:56 -0500

I have not collected many madtoms, but most of the ones that I have caught
were caught by passing a dip net under clumps of floating vegetation
(Ludwigia?) and coming up.

Also, the few I've collected preferred to hide in clumps of vegetation (Java
fern), not necesarily on the bottom. However, they've come out only at
night - not a lot of diurnal activity, even with feeding.
----- Original Message -----
From: D. Martin Moore <archimed_at_netdoor.com>
To: <nanfa_at_aquaria.net>
Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2001 9:11 PM
Subject: NANFA-- Madtom myth put to rest

> "That's what I get for ASSUMING" department:
>
> I just wanted to share a brief observation with the list. I have on a
> couple of occasions collected specimens of Noturus leptacanthus,
> the speckled madtom. In all cases the fish were collected in
> shallow streams (<1 foot) in association with clumps of submerged
> vegetation. I had always thought that all madtoms were bottom
> dwellers. NOT SO! I collected a total of six individuals from two
> locations (and two distinct drainages) over a period of about a year.
> This consisted of two collections of three fish each. The first
> collection went into a 110 gallon tank with floating and submerged
> driftwood, and plenty of caves, etc. There were no plants because
> of my wife's beloved silver dollars :-P ALL of the madtoms found
> niches in a large piece of FLOATING driftwood. And they were not
> at all shy, especially around feeding time, when they would eat
> trout pellets as soon as it hit the water.
>
> The second collection went into an outdoor 20 gallon tank, with
> submerged plants and debris, and you guessed it, a piece of
> floating driftwood. Again all of them chose to make their home on
> the driftwood.
>
> So much for the bottom dweller assumption.
>
>
> Prost,
>
> Martin
> Jackson, MS
>
>
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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