Just picked up these guys tonight. Margined Madtoms, three unsexed 4.0-5.5" fish! Wild caught from Maryland.
A few of my natives
- Thread starter divemaster99
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Awesome! I always wanted to keep madtoms. Most of the ones I'm interested in are protected here in PA
Thanks! Yes, our state has so few Noturus Cats that are legal to keep/harvest. Margined Madtoms and Stonecats are the only two legal to harvest/collect to my knowledge. And with Stonecats growing to the size of small Bullheads, they're more suitable as tankmates for larger, more aggressive natives such as Sunfish. I was lucky to have the opportunity to grab a few of these guys!
Thanks! Madtoms primarily live in small-medium streams and smaller rivers, but you can find them here and there in large rivers and ponds & lakes. They're much more apt to make a home in riffles or fast runs than any other Ictalurids, though they have no problem thriving in low flow waters either.
I've been nailed by stonecats. Worse than a bee sting! I really wish we could keep brindled madtom. Those are really neat fish and stay under 5". Common in Ohio, not so much here
So I've heard! I was sure to use net when I put them into their new tank haha. It's a shame we can't keep Brindleds, they're not widespread in PA overall but I know one large watershed where they're thriving.
Haha, me too! At least we can keep most species of darters now. Couple years ago this was not the case!
Darters look good!
Legality around natives here is wierd and difficult to understand
