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Re: NFC: Fw: Native fish to add?



Hi Tamara,

I have about 8 small pupfish in a 30 gallon tank right now.  I 
believe they are Sheepshead minnows which are apparently distantly 
related to your flag fish.  I am using the Petersons book as a 
reference.  Apparently the Sheepshead minnow is the Texas version 
of the flagfish. One is about 2 inches long and the rest are about 
1.25 inches long.

I have some Red shiners, Creek chubs, killies, and Mosquito fish 
in the tank also.  It is heavily planted with native sword 
plants.  Although the pupfish seem to try to show off to each 
other and the other fish,  none of them seem to get hurt.

I have a lot of bladderwort floating on the surface with baby 
Mosquito fish in the tank.

A lot of the people from the planted aquaria list use the flagfish 
as an algae eater in their tanks.  I wonder if the flagfish will 
feel less threatened if there were more hiding places due to a 
heavy planting.

I even have a tank with some ferocious looking sunfish or bass 
that I caught last week (less than 2 inches long).  With a lot of 
plants in the tank they don't seem to want to go after the other 
shyer fish.

I am a little bit different in that I also collect the local 
plants when I go on my "expeditions".  See my tanks at 
http:/users.ev1.net/~spituch/.  The 30 gal tank is furnished 
totally with local plants and fish, and was my entry in the 
Aquatic Gardeners Association Planted Aquaria Contest this year in 
the Biotope category.

Local swordplants would be great for your tank.  Look for the ones 
submersed in shallow water.  However, in the past twenty years I 
was not able to grow swordplants in gravel.  I finally was 
successful after reading Diana Walstad's book, "Ecology of the 
Planted Aquarium", and switched to a soil substrate.  As an added 
benefit the tank is now a lot more algae resistant. You can also 
cut down a plastic dixie cup and place garden soil in the cup, 
push the roots of the plant into the soil and then place a half 
inch layer of gravel on top to keep the soil from clouding the 
water.

It could be the flag fish are just too murderous, but I think that 
putting more fish in the tank and heavily planting it will calm 
them down.  I tend to put whatever fish I catch and whatever 
plants I find in a holding tank for observation and 
identification.  Of the half dozen species I've found so far, 
luckily they have all adapted to life in a community tank.

Good luck,

Steve Pituch


---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: "Joshua Wiegert" <JLW at dune_net>
Reply-To: nfc at actwin_com
Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2001 21:39:20 -0400

>Hi Tamara.
>
>I"ve forwarded your message onto the main NFC List, where someone 
should be
>happy to answer it for you.  In order to receive any replies on 
list, you
>need to subscribe to the list, or the digest (one mail a day) 
format.  To do
>so, send an e-mail to Majordomo at actwin_com with the 
command "subscribe NFC"
>or "Subscribe nfc-digest" in the body, minus the quotes.
>
>Joshua.
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Tamara Wilbur <twilbur at usbiosystems_com>
>To: <JLW at DUNE_NET>
>Cc: <PREDISENT at NATIVEFISH_ORG>
>Sent: Monday, October 01, 2001 11:41 AM
>Subject: Native fish to add?
>
>
>> Hello,
>>
>> My name is Tamara and I work for an environmental firm so I 
thought it
>only
>> natural to bring a tank to work and fill with native fish. It 
is a 10
>> gallon, I put play sand in the bottom, I have a mangrove 
looking faux wood
>> piece and 4 Florida Flagfish. What fish would you suggest I add 
that they
>> will not torment? I ask because I also HAD a mosquito fish and 
they killed
>> it!
>>
>> I would also like help on native plants and how to obtain both 
plants and
>> fish. It seems the area fish stores are not interested in 
selling these.
>>
>> Thank you,
>>
>> Tamara
>
>
>
 

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