Post your favorite native fish

I've recently become really interested in native fish in aquariums (USA for me), especially the more unusual or colorful fish. Some of the more beautiful fish found in my state are Fundulus zebrinus, Etheostoma spectabile, and Etheostoma cragini.

In the US in general, there are some real lookers such as Etheostoma osburni, Etheostoma obama (named after Obama), Elassoma okefenokee, and Fundulus julisia. I recently discovered the Northern Studfish (Fundulus catenatus) which I'm absolutely obsessed with. It's supposed to be the largest species of killifish in the world, topping out at 6-8 inches, and it's beautiful with a neon blue body streaked with horizontal red lines.

Many of these fish are not well known which is a real shame because some species aren't doing well and are arguably some of the most colorful freshwater fish in the world. This country gives a lot of attention to game fish while almost entirely ignoring these smaller, more colorful fish.

What's your favorite native fish, wherever you are?

Parablennius gattorugine or commonly called the Tompot Blenny. And yes marine not freshwater.
After finding a male guarding his nest one dive I sort of fell in love with these wierd looking specimen.

I see you like darters. One of my faves has always been the greenside darter or Etheostoma blennioides.

Let’s hear it stateside for the Heterandria Formosa.

None. That's why i like tropical fish. Pikes, eels, trout's, salmon just aren't as fancy

AilyNC said:

None. That's why i like tropical fish. Pikes, eels, trout's, salmon just aren't as fancy

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We get Gudgeon, but the last Ice Age sort of left our lakes and rivers a bit isolated. And carp are cypranid so are related to a lot that we put in our tanks.

@threecharacters Judging by your selections, I gather you're in the lower midwest somewhere?

I used to keep a lot of native Wyoming fish, but haven't for a long time. I always enjoyed plains killifish, too. Some other favorites are long-nose dace (not much to look at but their personality and behavior are extremely fun), flathead chubs (pics don't do them justice; a school of them looks amazing), and mountain suckers.

If I ever get around to keeping a native tank again, I would really like to try red shiners, mottled sculpins, and colorado river cutthroats.

kwi said:

Parablennius gattorugine or commonly called the Tompot Blenny. And yes marine not freshwater.
After finding a male guarding his nest one dive I sort of fell in love with these wierd looking specimen.
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Very nice, a native British Isles saltwater tank would be stunning.

WhistlingBadger said:

@threecharacters Judging by your selections, I gather you're in the lower midwest somewhere?

I used to keep a lot of native Wyoming fish, but haven't for a long time. I always enjoyed plains killifish, too. Some other favorites are long-nose dace (not much to look at but their personality and behavior are extremely fun), flathead chubs (pics don't do them justice; a school of them looks amazing), and mountain suckers.

If I ever get around to keeping a native tank again, I would really like to try red shiners, mottled sculpins, and colorado river cutthroats.

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I live in Colorado so a little more west than the lower midwest. The fish I mentioned occur in the east of the state.

I've caught Colorado River Cutthroat before. They're a really beautiful fish. I hadn't heard of red shiners before, they remind me of somewhat of bitterlings. I've actually caught dace on a rod in local streams (at least I think they were dace). Maybe I could catch a few for a tank.

When keeping Wyoming natives did you need a chiller? I imagine you would need a really large tank to keep cutthroats unless you just plan on releasing them once they hit a certain size.

Mudminnows!

threecharacters said:

Very nice, a native British Isles saltwater tank would be stunning.

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And is a dream tank, but I would need to win the lottery.....
Though my fish ID guide for diving a wreck or drop-off goes "Bream, Bream, Bream, Bream, not a Bream, Bream........"

threecharacters said:

I live in Colorado so a little more west than the lower midwest. The fish I mentioned occur in the east of the state.

I've caught Colorado River Cutthroat before. They're a really beautiful fish. I hadn't heard of red shiners before, they remind me of somewhat of bitterlings. I've actually caught dace on a rod in local streams (at least I think they were dace). Maybe I could catch a few for a tank.

When keeping Wyoming natives did you need a chiller? I imagine you would need a really large tank to keep cutthroats unless you just plan on releasing them once they hit a certain size.

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Yeah, sometimes we catch dace and plains minnows on tiny, tiny flies. They're really fun to mess with.

A lot of the mountain fish would need a chiller. Lukewarm water just can't hold enough oxygen for them. Brook trout would be amazing: In their spawning colors, they stack up against any fish in the world for "oh wow" colors, but they need really cold water. Browns are the only trout that might do OK at room temperature, but they are way too piscivorous to live in a tank with other fish. (I have a tragic story about how I know that, but you can probably guess most of it) Cutthroats are the only trout native to the area, and they are also among the least piscivorous, which means minnows and sculpins would have a reasonable chance of surviving for a while. It's illegal to release them (or even to keep them without a stocking permit) so I'd want at least a 150 gallon to let them grow. If they outgrew that, I don't know...maybe have them for supper?