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Re: Intro and Advice requested

Hey Sajjad,

	I don't think your water conditions would be the problem with what you
have in mind, but the 10 gal tank might, as quite a few of the sunfish
you are likely to find in your area will outgrow the tank in a short
time.
	You might have better luck with some of the native killifish, or some
of the shiners, as these stay relatively small, on the order of 2 to 3
inches for the most part. Even then, don't crowd too many of them in a
10 gal tank, though the killies can take a lot of tight quarters, they
will be more work for you if you crowd them.
	Also I suggest you get a good identification book. I use a couple, but
the Peterson's Field Guide Series "A Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes"
by L. Page and B. Burr, most of all. This guide gives a good general
description of the fish, habitat most likely to find them in, and the
range maps for the species in question among other things.

	Also, in the event you are not able to find the sort of fish you are
looking for in your immediate area, lots of folks would be happy to help
you obtain fish, both as collecting partners where practical, or as a
source for purchase of the fish if it's not practical for you to go to
where the fish are. Sometimes a person has too many fish on hand, and
will give fish to you for the cost of shipping. I believe Luke has some
fish that might suit you in this sort of deal if you are interested.
They are red shiners, and might be just the thing. Get a book, or borrow
one from the library, and check them out if you can.

	And welcome aboard!

TTYL

Herb Harris

Sajjad Lateef wrote:
> 
> Hello all,
> 
>         My name is Sajjad Lateef and I am a new NFC member-to-be (and
> NANFA as well ... both applications are in the mail). I am a fairly new
> aquarist (about six months of keeping livebearers) and a graduate student
> in engineering at the U of Illinois at Chicago. Mark Brinkley was kind
> enough to introduce me to this list/group as well as NANFA. I got
> interested in native fishes when I read articles posted to netnews
> (rec.aquaria.*) by NANFAMAN at aol_com (don't know the person's name).
> 
>         That aside, I would like to try my hand at raising and breeding
> some smaller native fish. The only native fish I could find at the fish
> stores were a pair of black-banded Sunfish. According to Peter Rollo's
> article, these fish require soft acidic water (6.2 pH). My water (Chicago
> tap water) is neutral and slightly hard (haven't tested the hardness yet).
> I would like to raise fish which would thrive in my water conditions (I do
> not want to fight my water at my current experience level).
> 
>         I am in the process of setting up a new planted 10Gallon tank for
> the native fish and will not be ready for fish for another 6-8 weeks (I
> was thinking of cycling it with a couple of guppies first).
> 
>         o What kind of fish would you recommend for these water
> conditions? Pygmy Sunfish, some other sunfish?
> 
>         o Where would I get these fish? There are a couple of lakes in the
> western suburbs of Chicago (Busse Lake supposed to have Sunfish) where I
> suppose I could catch some. However, I have never been fish-gathering and
> don't know how. From the NANFA list, I gather that the collected fish are
> stressed-out and prone to diseases. Any suggestions? Know any breeders in
> the Chicago area?
> 
>         o Does anyone know if I need a state licence to keep native
> species in home aquaria?
> 
>         Thank you.
> 
> Sajjad
> --
> Sajjad Lateef   ICQ#13114451    http://www.eecs.uic.edu/~slateef/
> sajjad at acm_org                  30th Anniversary ACM @ UIC 1967-1997
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