California natives??

[Pinoyfisher]

Anybody here have a native species tank for Cali, particularly San Diego? I currently have a lil 10g going (my 1st ever tank!) with some feeder guppies and a flower horn (not sure what kind) I got from a pet store for $5. The store is under new ownership and they're scaling back on their aquaria section. The guy also sold me a used 100w heater for $5 as well. Good deal right?

Anyways, I have a good lead on an affordable 50g tank (hopefully) and I'd like to make it a native tank, def. some crawdads and not sure what else. Any insight would be great as I am new to the hobby.

Also, I know it's not exactly the right forum, but since I mentioned my 10g I figured I'd post a pic...

 

[sandtiger]

I would stock the 50g with the flowerhorn.

 

[Noto]

I agree with sandtiger.

If you want to set up your 10 with natives, or get another tank, here are some things to keep in mind:

Most native California species are protected. You would need special permits to keep them.

There are a number of US native species commonly available at pet stores; these include:

Rosy Red Minnows (Pimephales promelas)
Sailfin Mollies (Poecilia latipinna)
Florida Flagfish (Jordanella floridae)
Ghost Shrimp (Palaemonetes paludosus)
Florida Swamp Crayfish AKA Blue Lobster (Procambarus alleni)
Red Swamp Crayfish (Procambarus clarkii)
Cajun Dwarf Crayfish (Cambarellus shufeldtii)

Check feeder tanks for other natives; small catfish, sunfish, minnows, mosquitofish, darters, killifish, and others occasionally get mixed in with the feeders.

Also try hatcheries and bait shops.

There are several online vendors who sell native species, but be sure to check your local regs first; they may not be able to ship to California.

Check out http://forum.nanfa.org/ for more info on keeping natives and lots of pictures to spark your interest.

 

[bbboys]

u can buy some natives at fishing stores with live bait thet have some shiners and some chubs and bass and blugill and sunfish and some other stuff there you would probobly need a permit for the bass and such

 

[sandtiger]

If you're looking to stock the tank with California natives only you're going to be hard pressed to find any, most of the freshwater fish in California that are readily available aren't actually native. This link might be of some use to you...
http://calfish.ucdavis.edu/

 

[Pinoyfisher]

I guess I should've titled this thread North American natives for a San Diegan I realize that Cali's regulations when it comes to gamefish is one of the in the US, so, it looks like I'll have to rely on the internet to get a hold of some natives.

 

[VNCNT]

i used to work at a petco and i would often find crayfish, baby largemouth bass and baby bluegill in our feeder shipments. most petco's have no problem selling you these fish for the price of a feeder.

 

[JIM]

I would stock the 50g with the flowerhorn.

Once again Sandtiger has made a short but completely accurate statement. A 50 gal aquarium seems large to someone that has always had smaller tanks, but a flowerhorn, which by the way yours is really cute, will grow to appreciate all that space and wouldnt mind more, Crays are troublesome, and smaller tank mates will probably wind up getting eaten. I would say if you landscape that 55 nicely, you will be satisfied with just the one fish and watch him grow.

 

[Pinoyfisher]

Yeah, I though about that too.

 

[zenyfish]

If you're looking to stock the tank with California natives only you're going to be hard pressed to find any, most of the freshwater fish in California that are readily available aren't actually native. This link might be of some use to you...
http://calfish.ucdavis.edu/

They use to have a picture of Chevy Chase from SNL wearing a shark costume next to the fish LAND SHARK:
http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/datastore/datastoreview/showpage.cfm?usernumber=46&surveynumber=241