Re: NANFA-- Bluenose Shiners & Pond Update- Recovery from

Steffen Hellner (steffen_at_hellner.biz)
Mon, 22 Sep 2003 21:14:34 +0200

Yes, either that or they4ll be eaten. Or are they fast enaough to escape the
pumpkinseeds all the way?

Steffen

> Von: Jeffrey Fullerton <tcmajorr_at_westol.com>
> Antworten an: nanfa_at_aquaria.net
> Datum: Mon, 22 Sep 2003 13:29:58 -0400
> An: "nanfa_at_aquaria.net" <nanfa at aquaria.net>
> Betreff: NANFA-- Bluenose Shiners & Pond Update- Recovery from Winterkill
>
>> Of course, another way is to throw them in a pond with pumpkinseeds or
other
>> centrarchids. Welaka are facultative nest associates; once the
pumpkinseeds
>> starts spawning, the welaka should too.
>>
> Chris & Others
>
> That would be very easy for me to do. Dollar Sunfishes ought to work
> too, but Pumpkinseeds are easy to come by if for some reason they don't.
>
> One other change I would like to try hubbsii instead of welaka-
> partially because I like them better and because they are supposably a
> little more better off than the latter and also they have a more
> northerly range and have a better chance of surviving outdoors here or
> even in my greenhouse pond which holds steady in the low 50s in winter.
>
> This would make a great surrogate species to work out a husbandry
> routine for welaka and I would happily dedicate a pond to these and a
> few other associated species and share surplus fish and info with other
> interested parties and individuals.
>
> Lately I have not been contributing much about my ponds to the list
> because of preoccupation with the greenhouse so I'm long overdue on a
> report regarding the outcome of the recovery of my ponds from a severe
> winterkill. I lost a good many species including tadpole madtoms and
> bluespotted sunfishes and a few others- leaving mostly Northern Redbelly
> Dace, Eastern Mudminnows and just a handfull of Golden Shiners.
>
> Oh, almost forgot- Brook Sticklebacks and a few Pearl Dace and Brassy
> Minnows.
>
> Well, I decided because of what I heard regarding the appetite of Golden
> Shiners for other fish fry and their tendency to munch on tender plants-
> I decided to exclude them for the time being and see how things go.
>
> The few surviving NRBDs spawned and the water is now swarming with young
> of the year fry like never before. This after years of trying to get
> them to breed at least enough to maintain a stable population , a
> breakthrough! I'm convinced now that the Golden Shiners were the reason
> they couldn't in the past. The experience has enlightened me to the fact
> that I can't have everything- at least not without constant restocking
> or alot of work to maintain separate spawning facilities- a
> contradiction to my origional goal to have the pond as a self-regulating
> system that requires minimal maintenance.
>
> Small systems work better with lower species diversity. If I ever did
> get a start of P. hubbsii, or Taillight Shiners the same would probably
> be true- I'd have to narrow my focus to a small set of species or else
> I'd likely loose them. But success with them would be well worth giving
> up something else!
>
> Maybe I'd even switch from Dollar Suns to the locally availible
> Pumpkinseed and that would be one less species to have to worry about
> loosing in a hard winter- and winter some shiners in a tank, or in the
> greenhouse for insurance would not be so taxing.
>
> I still like Dollars, so I'd always winter a couple pairs and some young
> to keep them around.
>
> Jeff
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