luck with darters?

[mcredimus]

i live in auburn alabama. while looking for ids on several fish i caught while out netting i realized that we have about 70 species of darters in this state. has anyone ever had luck keeping darters? if so
what are you feeding them?
what kind of setup are you using? sandy? rocky?
and any other info you have will be apreciated.

 

[drewish]

I've sampled/collected in AL before and there are sooooo many different species. I would pick one that is secure in your area and mimic its environment. If you find it in fast water, you will want a setup with some decent current. I feed my darters primarily live blackworms, freeze dried and frozen bloodworms, and finely chopped shrimp.

 

[Aqua Sanctuary]

I didnt know we ad so many darters. wow! I'm in gadsden / rainbow city right on the coosa river. Did you net from the coosa?

 

[Moontanman]

I've sampled/collected in AL before and there are sooooo many different species. I would pick one that is secure in your area and mimic its environment. If you find it in fast water, you will want a setup with some decent current. I feed my darters primarily live blackworms, freeze dried and frozen bloodworms, and finely chopped shrimp.

I've always used the live black worms as well. If you can get them/culture them live daphnia are great for small fish like darters. The pic you provided looks pretty good for a substrate. Hey Drew is that you?

 

[teleost]

I've found that most darters will accept a variety of frozen and freeze dried foods. Naturally they will accept just about any live food they can fit in their mouth. Some darters (like other fish) require specialized tank conditions while others (like your Percina nigrofasciata) live in a wide range of stream types and temperatures. I've had good luck with blackbanded darters. They have accepted prepared food very quickly and became acclimated to tank life quickly. I'm fond of them.

 

[Mampam]

i catch darters all the time, but have never kept one