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bgcajun at juno_com (B G Granier): NANFA-- Collecting Trip
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From: bgcajun at juno_com (B G Granier)
To: nanfa at aquaria_net
Subject: NANFA-- Collecting Trip
Date: Tue, 24 Jun 1997 14:56:03 -0500
Message-ID: <19970624.145603.3382.8.bgcajun at juno_com>
Collecting trip on Sunday, the 15th of June, 1997.
Jim Parham, Bill StLaurent and I met at Covington, Louisiana in the
morning, at about 9 AM, to make a whirlwind tour of my favorite
collecting spots around the
"Florida parishes" (counties) of Louisiana. After loading Bill's nets and
containers
into the "Big Black Chevy Truck" that I call my "minner transporter", we
struck out for our first destination - Bayou Lacombe, La.
Soon after arriving at the above site, we started collecting all sorts of
species like
Poecilia latipinna, Cyprinodon variegatus, Lucania parva, Fundulus
grandis,
Heterandria formosa, lots of Dambusia (Gambusia) and Syngnathus scovelli,
(the Gulf Pipefish) ! After Jim did his best Heron impression, that is :
remaining completely motionless while watching the bottom of the Bayou;
he came up with a colorful gobie that had red and blue colors in the two
dorsal fins and long extensions of the fin rays of the primary dorsal
fin! Also in sight were several schools of silversides, Fundulus
chrysotus and mullets, which we could not approach near enough to capture
with our nets! Bill did manage to catch a longnosed gar that is now
residing in the L.S.U. Museum of Natural History, compliments of Jim
Parham, who is a graduate student of NANFA member Dr.
J. Michael Fitzsimons of L.S.U. ; the gar is alive and eating well, thank
you!
After a quick pit-stop, we left the environs of Bayou Lacombe and went
straight north to the Pearl River area in the hopes of getting some
cold-water species (so to speak), for this area of Louisiana is known for
it's fishes that frequent the cooler, flowing creeks of the Washington
Parish (County) part of the Louisiana.
Upon arrival at another one of my favorite collecting spots, all hands
abandoned the "Big Black Chevy Truck" and hit the creek! Jim and Bill
took a small seine and a bucket with them to the northwest side of the
creek, while I took my net and bucket to the southeast portion of the
creek. It wasn't long before I heard a lot of noise that sounded like
"Ya-hoo's" and thought that they'd hit a pot-o-gold or something! Nah,
they'd only just picked up some Flagfin shiners and a male Gulf darter
with brilliant red markings, that's all ! Meanwhile, I proceeded to fill
my bucket with some of the Flagfin shiners (Pteronotropis signipinnis)
and Cherryfin shiners (L. rosepinnis) and young Sharpfin chubsuckers
(Erimyzon tenuis).
After an enjoyable day of collecting, Jim and I departed from Covington,
bidding so-long to Bill, and drove back to Baton Rouge, then Jim safely
transported our fish to the basement of Foster Hall and acclimated the
fish that he wanted into the waiting tanks of L.S.U. !
Bill also took the fish that he desired and acclimated them to his tanks,
and even had a hatch of baby pipefish from one of the pregnant male
pipefish! He found that ,sure to Jim's advice, those adult pipefish
really like adult brine shrimp!
I know that these two are diehard native fish fans and also hope that
they will join NANFA and educate other native fish people about our need
to conserve, enjoy and educate everyone that they meet about the needs
of our own North American Fish! I hope that they had an enjoyable time,
too! I sure did !!!
Best Regards,
B.G. Granier
N O R T H A M E R I C A N N A T I V E F I S H
E S A S S O C I A T I O N
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