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Re: SCULPINS



Hello Chris,

I do not know what species of sculpin you may be encountering, but send me
up some in alcohol, and I will see if I can get Chip Hill, a grad student at
OSU who specializes in sculpin to take a look.  Big ones would be better
than small ones.  Send several, as it is possible that you are seeing more
than one species.  We often find three species living in the same creek up
here in Oregon.

As for keeping them in the aquarium, I find that a small tank with a potent
(powerful) filter works best, i.e. a 20 gallon aquarium with an undergravel
filter and the biggest powerhead you can find.  The more gallons an hour the
better.  Most sculpin up here come from streams, and therefore require a
large amount of oxygen in the water, but even the ones I find in ponds and
lakes do best when maintained as above.  Feed live foods if possible, since
they are predators, but frozen brine shrimp released into the current
simulates live well enough usually.  Obviously the cooler the tank the
better.

Norm
-----Original Message-----
From: Christian C Burke <cburke.fish-head at worldnet_att.net>
To: nanf at actwin_com <nanf at actwin_com>
Date: Sunday, November 23, 1997 5:32 PM
Subject: SCULPINS


>Hello everybody,
>
>I regularly go fishing at Castaic Lake in southern California.  I have
>noticed there is a good population of sculpins living among rocks along
>the shore.  Since there are apparently over 100 species of sculpin in
>both fresh and salt water, I doubt that I will be able to determine the
>exact species.  It looks like the Mottled Sculpin (Cottus bairdi), and
>is about the same size (the largest I've seen were 3-4 inches), but is
>slightly out of its range according to the Audubon guide.
>
>Does anyone have any knowledge of this or a closely related species in
>SC?  Perhaps they were introduced with trout plants
>
>Also, I have been entertaining the idea of collecting and keeping a
>couple of these curious fish.  I would welcome any advice on the care of
>freshwater sculpins in general.  Response either on or off the list
>would be great.
>
>Regards,
>
><')))><
>
>Chris Burke
>mailto:cburke.fish-head at worldnet_att.net
>http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/2640/
>