They'll live in warmer water. They won't especially LIKE it, but they'll
do okay. They live in water a bit warmer than most of the other minnows.
For that matter, their habitat preference is quite a bit different from
most of the others as well, and that's part of the reason this fish is
so seldom seen...they're a royal pain to catch, because they live in
areas that are hard to reach. For example, one of the best spots in the
country to find them is only an hour away from my house, but I'd rather
drive three more hours to another place. Why? Because the closest place
where they're so plentiful is nearly inaccessible, being a deep creek
running through a dense swamp. The water there is a lot warmer than the
water only a few miles north in the same river.
Breeding... As I understand it, only twice has this fish ever spawned in
an aquarium, and frankly, I can't help but wonder about one of those
times.
The tricky part about spawning this fish is that it lays it's eggs in
the nest of another fish, preferably a Longear Sunfish. ( A Pumpkinseed
was used as a proxy once with success, as I understand it. ) It has a
fixed breeding season as well. Therefore, what you have to do is keep
this fish in a tank with sunfishes old enough to breed, but small enough
to not eat the Bluenoses. Then, you have to condition them ALL for
spawning. Then, the sunfish have to spawn, and then finally, if you're
lucky, the Shiners will follow.
I have an idea about using a big tank, 100 gallons or so, with a
partition in it. The Shiners would be on one side, and the Longears on
the other. They'd be able to see each other, but that's it.
After conditioning the fish to spawn, I'd make a fake Longear nest.
After letting the Longears swim over the fake nest a few days, I'd
remove the longears and the partition. With any luck, the Bluenoses
would seize their opportunity to spawn over the fake nest.
Just an idea. There's GOT to be an easier way.
My other idea is to simply strip the ripe breeders of eggs and sperm and
mix them together in a bowl. A bit drastic, but I bet it would work.
Sadly, this fish only lives about 2 & 1/2 years, and dies a few weeks
after it spawns.
Maybe the fry raised in captivity without any sunfishes around may be
more inclined to spawn without them?
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