Re: NANFA-- brook stickleback?

Bonnie Ullmann (ullmann_at_uoneuro.uoregon.edu)
Mon, 25 Sep 2000 16:27:59 -0700

You can find 3-spines fairly close to coastlines. They often were
trapped by glacial activity in fresh water habitats in Alaska and we
find some inland as far as Sun River, Oregon, so far, in our travels.
For the most part, they are in river mouths close to the ocean.
They're all over coastlines of the northern hemisphere. One of the
reasons we like them so much (outside of how much fun they are to
breed) is that they have rapidly evolved into 3 distinct morphs
depending on whether they are in estuarine or fresh water habitats.
Most of the marine morph is fully armored with bony plates all the
way from the opercular bone to the tail. Most of the fresh water
morphs have lost most of the bony plates except 5-8 anterior plates.
It takes a big expenditure of energy to make armor and the predators
that made armor essential for survival in coastal waters weren't
present in inland lakes. So, it is thought that reduced armor might
allow more energy to be expended in successfully making and defending
the nests and raising the babies.
We kept them at a winter temperature of 15C and a summer
breeding temperature of about 20C.
I would love to see some brook sticklebacks. I've seen
pictures only and they are handsome fish, aren't they? I read that
they are inland critters. I also read that they, too, have the armor
plates but that the plates are small and it's not as easy to see them
in the live fish. Let me know if that's true in your guys. I
understand the brook males do the elaborate breeding ritual and nest
caretaking, too. I was amazed the first time our guys raised babies
in our tanks. They were extremely crafty in gluing down the eggs and
making the nest look invisible to us alien predator types (as opposed
to all the drawings in books that I had seen, of course!)
Keep us apprised of how you're doing!
Bonnie

>thanks a lot for the information on the tank size for sticklebacks. I would
>like to find some three-spinned stickles around here, but not sure where to
>get them, could you give me some pointers? Do they live with the brook
>stickles? We have some of the latter in a very cold trout stream, with lots
>of sand, maybe the 3 pined would be there, too? I am probably going to set up
>a ten gallon for a single male, and maybe a female, as well, with good
>internal cannister filtration, or a powerhead, graval, and some plants. What
>kind of temp. range is best? Thanks! :) -dan
>
>/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>/"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily
>/ reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
>/ Association"
>/ This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association
>/ nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word
>/ subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to
>/ nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to
>/ nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead.
>/ For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org

/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
/"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily
/ reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
/ Association"
/ This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association
/ nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word
/ subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to
/ nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to
/ nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead.
/ For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org