I may start a illinois native tank probably with a 210g looking to exchange out my heaters for a quality water chiller and instead of running 2 GLO Dual T5 54w fixtures I am going to center one fixture only in the middle of the tank. I will be collecting round rock from the river over time to eventually have enough to cover the bottom of the tank including large rocks as well there will be a few peices of drift wood in the tank and a very strong powerhead possibly 2 powerheads. This tank will include locally collected species including walleye, crappie, smallmouth bass, crawfish, fathead minnows, shad, maybe small buffalo or a small carp if possible as well as possibly a small stripped bass. Just some ideas of a tank I will eventually be upgrading the tank when I move into my new place in 6-8 months. I was inspired by catching a small walleye and a small crappie today. Small mouth are plenty available as well as bluegill. Carp that are 1 or less are not readily available or any of the other fish they are a little more rare to come by in my area. What do you guys think has anyone done this it will allow me to study fish behaviors as I will be adjusting tempatures to follow my local waters tempature. I will attempt to get fish that are compatible like males and females to try for breeding and possible then release these fish into a buddies pond. All precautions will be made to assure these fish are properly acclimated to prevent stress, disease, etc.
illinois native fish captivity questions
- Thread starter tyjo1334
- Start date
Sound like a good idea to me although I don't think you need a chiller for the species you want to keep as most will do well at room temperature I think chillers are more for salmon, trout, and pikes.
I know your dilemma. Most fishermen can land adult specimens of most of these fish, but the juvies are a bit harder. I might suggest small creeks and sloughs. I tend to catch smaller fish there of multiple species, including bass, perch, and multiple kinds of bottom-feeder like drum, carp, and sucker. Just a thought. Good luck and I can't wait to see it, as I'm in Illinois as well.
Josh H
Josh H
I only have one concern and that would be the Big mouth buffalo, these things get huge (up to four feet) and are primarily filter feeders so you might not be able to reach its food needs. Everything else in your tank sounds good thought. I've got a crappie with 2 perch and a few sunfish and i love the tank.
buffalo will not be a priority for me to keep mainly want game fish but truely I am searching for the most natural effect to mimic my local waters.
So you will probably be using driftwood and plants. when i started my tank i used river sand and rocks for aquascape and collected wood. looks quite nice. Make sure you really plan your aquascape hard, i still have regrets about not planning my aquascape for longer.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?443716-72gal-native-bowfront-pictures if you want to check them out.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?443716-72gal-native-bowfront-pictures if you want to check them out.
I want it to simulate a damn I will have a pile of large rocks with powerheads over the top. There will be a dead zone behind the pile of large rocks I will also include crayfish as well as a couple small bullheads as long as they behave themselves in my tank.
Nice, that would be pretty cool. check out this website for inspiration http://galleries.underwaterfishphotos.com/gallery-list