Local Native Fishies

[BBrianMo1]

I'm looking to purchase a 60 gallon set up later today(read: after work) and am leaning towards keeping local fish in there. Yes, I have searched this site and saw that I can't legally keep bass/crappie/game fish but sunfish/bluegills are still ok which is what I was leaning towards anyways.

Does anyone know a good location locally to find some? I'm trying to stick with smaller bluegills/sunfish, minnow species, etc...


thanks for any help y'all can give me.

~b

[BBrianMo1]

so no help there...awesome.

picked up 60 gallon tank w/stand and lights today. also got filter for it, now off to get the substrate and whatnot.

hopefully this will be set up tonight.

[Flapjack]

you can get sunfish and bluegil in pretty much all the nearby lakes, you just need either a throw net or a walk net.

[biggin]

Throw net and you will find plenty of them.

They will not be sold anywhere, so you will have to get a little dirty.

[BBrianMo1]

yeah i don't mind that part. i swear i saw some at a pet store south of i-20 on McCart...they were in terrible condition too.

tomorrow might = fishy expedition day. Got the tank almost ready to fill up. have to get rocks still. am leaning towards a mix of pea gravel and river rocks for a more natural feel. and of course some larger rocks as well.

as for plants, idk??? anachris?? help???

[Flapjack]

you can get aquatic plants from the lakes as well.

[cichlidtim]

i know of a lil spot u can pull small blue gills out as well as perch u can get em as fast as ur line hits the water i had a few myself sold em got african cichlids now also have convict cichlids for sale 1$ each got some african fry too but not as cheap

cichlidtim added 1 Minutes and 11 Seconds later...

i got lights and accesories too

cichlidtim added 8 Minutes and 21 Seconds later...

get some texas holey roock helps ph as well as live plants on sale at petsmart right now the holey rock u can find on craigs list .25-.50 cents a lb.

cichlidtim added 11 Minutes and 6 Seconds later...

hey flapjack u got ne peacocks 4 sale?

[Jake]

From my understanding, there are groups out there that do this type of thing all the time. They look for endangered and/or at risk local fish and then breed them and either release them back into the wild or share them around. We must have some around here.

[Penelope]

I catch longear sunfish out of a little creek that comes off of Lake Grapevine. It crosses 377. These guys are BEAUTIFUL!!!. Turquoise and puce. I had some in my tank for a while with my african cichlids but they were a little too rough for them. They really needed a tank of their own. I didn't have an extra tank at the time, so I ended up taking them back to the creek about a 8 months later. but when I have the funds to set up a new larger tank, these guys are definately going into it!

[BBrianMo1]

i'm thinking of hitting up benbrook lake tomorrow, as well as bicentennial park(minnows?)

[Penelope]

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/longearsunfish/ this pic is the closest I've seen although it does not do the fish justice at all. The colors are much prettier than this.


ohhhh. I just found this pic. This is what mine looked like. http://gallery.nanfa.org/v/members/Lance+Merry/Centrarchidae/Lepomis/megalotis/Picture+0468_02.jpg.html

[BBrianMo1]

yeah i'm hoping to get 2-4 bluegills/pumpkinseeds/longears to centralize the tank. some other various minnows to round it out

[BBrianMo1]

alright, went to Bicentennial Park today. was able to snag some crayfish/crawdads to put in the tank. One has already dug himself a nice cozy apartment, the other two are less than 1/2 an inch long and just wander around the bottom.

Also, picked up some what appear to be some sort of killifish as well as some longer minnows, possibly top minnows, with 1 black stripe down the side. any help ID'ing them would be great. i'll try to get some pics soon.

[BBrianMo1]

got some plants in there, all the fish are loving them! just some petsmart bought anachris @ 'frill' plants in one corner, but still...they did come from a mainly rocky environment anyways.

[Sigmar]

plants will help with aggression. In the wild they have a whole lake/stream to hide in, a tank not so much. Get us some pics!!

[kleankord]

plants will help with aggression. In the wild they have a whole lake/stream to hide in, a tank not so much. Get us some pics!!

+1 pics

[James H]

Brian,
send me an email directly and I will send you a couple of locations that I have found with sunfish, mosquito fist, topminnows, shinners and small catfish.

[alpuche]

just got reading this post and i'm thinking i would like to get some perches. does anyone think a 70 gallon would be good for 6 perches and would they be good with tropical fish?

[Jlowe17]

Also, picked up some what appear to be some sort of killifish as well as some longer minnows, possibly top minnows, with 1 black stripe down the side. any help ID'ing them would be great. i'll try to get some pics soon.


It's probably fundulus notatus. See if this link describes what you've got.

http://www.bio.txstate.edu/~tbonner/txfishes/fundulus%20notatus.htm

[BBrianMo1]

that would be them. have mostly females from what I can tell.

[cichlidtim]

use hot dogs!!! and blue gills are better kept with oscars

[BBrianMo1]

lol maybe this upcoming weekend. still need to round out the planting/rock formations in the tank.