Paddlefish.....

[grmanrocks]

ok first off, i dont intend to come off as ignorant or foolish. i am only an aquarist, bored with keeping the usual fish, and would like to try my hands at something a little more challenging.

ive long been a fan of our native cousins to elasmobranchs (sturgeons and paddlefish) and have kept quite a few of the first. i however would love to get my hands on a a few paddlefish.....

i realize that all-happy was going to get them in but then they went on a sort of haitus. and they were asking $60 a fish which in my opinion is a tad pricey isnt it? dont the hatcheries sell these fish at around $5-10 a fish?

so heres the scoop....is there anyone with a hatchery nearby them that is willing to pick up about a half dozen for me? i could paypal the shipping cost and a little extra over the price of the fish? or maybe i have something locally that you guys in paddlefish land would want and we could swap?

idk, jsut throwing it out there as i would love to get my hands on a few (or a lot) of these marvelous fish

[BRYANT]

TTT

[cichlaguapote]

Paddlefish are such a PITA when young. And then housing them in a big enough so they don't rub their nose when they get older.

Honestly $60.00 isn't a horrible price. It's about going rate. Sure you can get them for $5.00-$10.00 a peice. But you have to buy huge quanities. Most commerical fish farms have no want to deal with a hobbiest who only wants a couple(even 20 is a couple)peices. It just isn't worth it for them.


And the only place I know that sells them for that cheap in huge quanities only delivers in a certain area. Even then they don't bag or box the fish. The load them in a tanker truck and basically poor them wherever they're going(lake). I will say that if All Happy had them but is closed check other LFS' list. Chances are the same distributor works with area LFS'.

That was just my opinion and I wish you luck.

[Moontanman]

If you can get a paddlefish for $60 you better get it, I can't seem to get one at any price. it will need a no kidding big tank with a large foot print and then you will no doubt have to dwarf the fish to keep it.

[Hoyo12]

Wow. I just found out that they get to 6 feet+! What size tank were you planing on keeping this fish in?

[Nabbig2]

Yeah, I don't think a paddlefish is something most aquarists should look into. It needs an enormous amount of room, and not to mention it's a filter feeder.

[e!o!z!]

You may want to check with your state to see if you can even have them legally in Alabama they are endangered and if caught with a wild one a heavy fine is given. That what some fishermen told me anyways

[new2natives]

last year they became available to my lfs the last week in july. at that time they were about 4" and $25-30.

so i would wait a little longer, and hopefully they will pop up.

and i will agree that they are a PITA ... mainly because of their feeding habits, but i'm sure you already know that, and hopefully have a plan. live brine and daphnia are your best bets. i was feeding frozen foods, and in the time mine went from 4 to 5" in my tank, the store that was feeding them live went from 4" to 8" !!!!

as for the tank thing, dont worry about it, i had mine in a 29g, and not once did it hit its nose on the glass.

[svang55]

:popcorn:

[grmanrocks]

Paddlefish are such a PITA when young. And then housing them in a big enough so they don't rub their nose when they get older.

Honestly $60.00 isn't a horrible price. It's about going rate. Sure you can get them for $5.00-$10.00 a peice. But you have to buy huge quanities. Most commerical fish farms have no want to deal with a hobbiest who only wants a couple(even 20 is a couple)peices. It just isn't worth it for them.


And the only place I know that sells them for that cheap in huge quanities only delivers in a certain area. Even then they don't bag or box the fish. The load them in a tanker truck and basically poor them wherever they're going(lake). I will say that if All Happy had them but is closed check other LFS' list. Chances are the same distributor works with area LFS'.

That was just my opinion and I wish you luck.

thanks for your opinion :) really, it helped. it wasnt so much the price that drove me to reach out, but the fact that all-happy seems to be suspended without further notice. i do realize the ridiculous requirements of this fish, and that is what draws me to them.... :)

Wow. I just found out that they get to 6 feet+! What size tank were you planing on keeping this fish in?

hehe. tank size is never an issue :P

Yeah, I don't think a paddlefish is something most aquarists should look into. It needs an enormous amount of room, and not to mention it's a filter feeder

i agree that they need an enormous amount of room. but what i understand about this fish is that the room isnt so much the problem (ableit, it is a problem, but one i will rise to when the time comes). food source, water temp, and other complicated issues at a "system" level (by system i refer to the aquarium and its design).

and i will agree that they are a PITA ... mainly because of their feeding habits, but i'm sure you already know that, and hopefully have a plan. live brine and daphnia are your best bets. i was feeding frozen foods, and in the time mine went from 4 to 5" in my tank, the store that was feeding them live went from 4" to 8" !!!!

yea, i have a little something something planned when i get a hold of mine :) my other hobby is non-photosynthetic reefing so i have plently of little particulate foods sitting around. and i also understand that as they grow the "filter-feeding" aspect seems to become less of an issue with reports of them taking feeders and skewered shrimp. :) yea, the sturgeon family tends to grow that quick :)

If you can get a paddlefish for $60 you better get it, I can't seem to get one at any price. it will need a no kidding big tank with a large foot print and then you will no doubt have to dwarf the fish to keep it.

yea, im starting to see that. it seems to be easier to get our natives (especially paddles) overseas than within the states......

thanks for input.....i guess ill sit around and wait for all happy to come back so i can nab a few (or all) of them.....ive been wanting to give these fish a shot for quite a long time now

[new2natives]

where are you located?

[grmanrocks]

im located in sunny southern california :)

[BlackShark11k]

Keep in mind that these fish get very large, and by large I'm talkin' 5 feet. Not to mention you'll probably need to keep them in a round aquarium to better suit them and their swimming pattern. These fish do NOT do well in square tanks. They we'll get stuck in the corners and can potentially harm themselves.

[cichlaguapote]

I had 2 and getting them feeding was my issue but it's because I was ill prepared.

Decent size tank and getting them feeding early on will be the biggest issues. But sounds like you're well prepared and know what you're doing.

[boxlotfish]

I have 120 paddlefish at 6 inches for sale. I can send them anywhere within the USA accept Hawaii. You might have to cope with the local regulations. See my web site at: http://floridapaddlefish.com for information about the fish in Florida. I will take $30 each for them. I think they would be great for a small pond or koi deal. They love ice water and can take 90 degree hot water if the O2 levels are there. If it gets to big then have a fish fry.

[SimonL]

I don't suppose you ship to Canada? :)

[Fish Room Plus]

This is one of those fish that should not be available to the public. The fish just has no chance in a home aquarium.

[boxlotfish]

Simon: I can ship to Canada with air cargo but it is never cheap. These fish should be available to the public for Koi ponds because of the way they eat and their size. Yes even the aquarium at Epcot center was to small. These paddlefish can grow as much as 10 to 20 pounds a year.

[boxlotfish]

For the people interested in getting some paddlefish then go to my web site at: http://www.boxlotfish.com/airline_info.php to figure out the shipping via air cargo. I would also suggest a cheap swimming pool. My email is: aquahumic@cs.com

[boxlotfish]

I am trying the brine shrimp. Blood worms, guppies, black worms have not worked.

[Moontanman]

Will they not feed on micro pellets? Any other time of year I'd have lots of Daphnia magna, too hot right now. Try using a feeding ring and micro pellets. A feeding ring will let the pellets rain down slowly in a limited place. Hikari makes a good pellet.

[Zoodiver]

I've had some success with target training paddlefish to feed from the end of a feeding stick (ridged airline tubing). They'll take small shrimp that way.

[Moontanman]

You could try http://www.cyclop-eeze.com/ I've never seen a fish that wouldn't eat it even large predatory fish will try to strain it out of the water. I've used it to raise many species of fish fry and sturgeon gobble it up as well.

[monsterz]

Mine eat certain types of koi pellets and arowana pellets right from the surface. They are picky and will spit out ones they don't like. I also give them frozen glassworms in the cubes, they just eat the whole cube as well as chunks of frozen brine or krill.

[boxlotfish]

According to my supplier in Miami the fish are eating everything now. I guess it just took a few days to get them started. I ship via air cargo and my email is flpaddlefish@cs.com