Anyone keeping a tank of colorful native US fish

My wife visited a local zoo this last week, and they had a chart of fish that could be found in the local river system, and asked why don’t you have any of “these”

It got me looking, and there are many colorful local fish, that don’t require the cold water of a rainbow trout… I was looking at rainbow darters, rainbow shiners, and several other fish that can live comfortably in normal room temperature tanks, get 2 - 4 inches long… kind of makes me want to set up a tank for local fish… the ones listed are easy to acquire, and reasonably priced… anyone playing???
Looking at others that would fit in a tank with those tank mates…

I think American Flag fish would also fit the parameters???



Rainbow shiner


Rainbow Darter

Green sided darter

Banded darter


There really are a lot of colorful native fish

Magnum Man said:

My wife visited a local zoo this last week, and they had a chart of fish that could be found in the local river system, and asked why don’t you have any of “these”

It got me looking, and there are many colorful local fish, that don’t require the cold water of a rainbow trout… I was looking at rainbow darters, rainbow shiners, and several other fish that can live comfortably in normal room temperature tanks, get 2 - 4 inches long… kind of makes me want to set up a tank for local fish… the ones listed are easy to acquire, and reasonably priced… anyone playing???
Looking at others that would fit in a tank with those tank mates…

I think American Flag fish would also fit the parameters???

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The rainbow darters and many other fish need an induced cold winter period, however the flag fish don't really need it.
These would maybe be harder to keep than your common tropical fish, but I think it's not a bad idea

So the colder temperatures are easier in MN… guessing with no heater, I could get to mid 60’s where my tanks are, in the winter… un-heated water changes could likely get it down to the low 60,s during the winter

I was looking at Pigmy Sunfish as well... they are not as colorful but are a southern fish, so warmer waters, or at least lack of cold needed

Magnum Man said:

So the colder temperatures are easier in MN… guessing with no heater, I could get to mid 60’s where my tanks are, in the winter… un-heated water changes could likely get it down to the low 60,s during the winter

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I think it's still warmer at home for them than naturally outside, because of the heater(A/C).
but perhaps that small change is enough for them to think its winter

I've got an ice maker... could add a dozen or so everyday into the filter for a month during the winter...

is the cold season required for breeding, or survival??? the reading I've been doing of raising them in an aquarium, I didn't notice the cold season requirement... I'm sure the bright colors posted in the pictures are spawning colors... not sure if that is caused by the presence of females alone, or if it also requires the cold season???

I wish we had such colorful fish in free nature. Most fish that we have in Dutch waters are pretty dull colored. Maybe it's because we are a dull country as well...

But we are able to get those darters through retail but as being a rare type of fish. One of the bigger aquarium and pond stores we had (unfortunately, they've closed down a few years back ago) always had a number of them.

I thought Holland was all colorful, with the windmills & Tulips... never been there... yet

emeraldking said:

I wish we had such colorful fish in free nature. Most fish that we have in Dutch waters are pretty dull colored. Maybe it's because we are a dull country as well...

But we are able to get those darters through retail but as being a rare type of fish. One of the bigger aquarium and pond stores we had (unfortunately, they've closed down a few years back ago) always had a number of them.

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In the US, it's mostly the colder places and the hotter places that have beautiful small fish. I can barely even find small fish where I am!

Sgooosh said:

In the US, it's mostly the colder places and the hotter places that have beautiful small fish. I can barely even find small fish where I am!

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In Maryland you can house in a 30 gallon tank these local fish: White Cloud Mountain Minnow (Tanichthys albonubes), Rosy Red Minnow (Pimephales promelas),Golden Shiner (Notemigonus crysoleucas), Pumpkinseed Sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus), and Blunt nose Minnow (Pimephales notatus). Though Some of these get to be 3-4 inches