North American Natives are undervalued...

[warmouth]

I have been thinking about this for awhile...the natives really are undervalued within the hobby. I come across magazines every blue moon discussing a few natives. Not much is really said to really spark an interest in native fish keeping. Those of us who keep these fish know how responsive they are to us.

There is personality and fire in all of them. As some of us have found out that a blue gill will boss an entire tank regardless of what type of fish are present. The larger size of a another fish doesn't matter either to a blue gill. The tenacity of so many natives rivals many of the great cichlids,etc...

The colors can rival them too. My fish change colors at will from almost black on the dominant and challenger fish. When they are changing their minds, the electric blues, oranges, greens and stripes are always present.

The catfish are beautiful too. When they lack color, stripes, etc... they make it up in speed, agility, personality and they way they move. I consider my brown bullhead the favorite in the entire tank.

It moves like a shark sometimes by moving it's head and body from left to right while cruising through the tank. My brown bullhead is full of black on a white background with an olive colored head. I LOVE the way it looks. It puts uneaten food in different spots in the tank and will come back and eat later.

The Warmouth is like having a mini bass in it's stealth mode and strikes. The colors of the pumkinseeds, redbreast, etc... put you in awe. The crappies, bass. etc...will also make you love them too.

Cichlids and others are natives too. They simply come from another area.
North American natives are worthy of great discussion, creating the best environment and also worth studying too. Our Natives should be on large displays at public aquariums.

I mean large enough for you have seats in front of like the GA. Aquarium has for the whales, sharks, groupers and more. Put the right kind of decorations and you will see the true underwater behavior of these amazing fish. Especially if they have scheduled feedings for people to really see how fast these fish strike and act.

That's my $20.00 worth of comment and opinion.

Rays I whole heartedly agree. There are even some fish that I would like to see introduced into the hobby to help ARK the fish (save it from extinction). Examples would be the Roanoke Bass, Niangua darter, Mud Sunfish, Spring pygmy Sunfish etc. They are all beautifull and endangered. Then there are some that are almost cichlid like in appearance like the Central Mo Longear (Kansas) and Florida Bluegill; or in attitude like the Dollar and Green Sunfish or how many people know that there are many more types of BLack bass than Largemouth and Smallmouth. Here in Mo we have Smallmouth, Spotted Bass hybrids in some areas that are so aggressive a friend of mine has a 13 inch in a tank with a 14 inch Oscar and the Oscar gets its butt kicked anytime the Native bass feels like it! I would love to see more of our rare catfish like the Snail,Flathead and Spotted Bullheads introduced to the hobby (they get the perfect tank size [8-14inches] and can be kept with semi-aggressive sunfish with no problem); and like you mentioned thats not even talking about the hundreds of different kinds of shiner, killifish and darters we have......most people who say they wouldnt want natives havent a clue about more than just the sportfish we have in this great country!

 

[I<3fish]

Rays I whole heartedly agree. There are even some fish that I would like to see introduced into the hobby to help ARK the fish (save it from extinction). Examples would be the Roanoke Bass, Niangua darter, Mud Sunfish, Spring pygmy Sunfish etc. They are all beautifull and endangered. Then there are some that are almost cichlid like in appearance like the Central Mo Longear (Kansas) and Florida Bluegill; or in attitude like the Dollar and Green Sunfish or how many people know that there are many more types of BLack bass than Largemouth and Smallmouth. Here in Mo we have Smallmouth, Spotted Bass hybrids in some areas that are so aggressive a friend of mine has a 13 inch in a tank with a 14 inch Oscar and the Oscar gets its butt kicked anytime the Native bass feels like it! I would love to see more of our rare catfish like the Snail,Flathead and Spotted Bullheads introduced to the hobby (they get the perfect tank size [8-14inches] and can be kept with semi-aggressive sunfish with no problem); and like you mentioned thats not even talking about the hundreds of different kinds of shiner, killifish and darters we have......most people who say they wouldnt want natives havent a clue about more than just the sportfish we have in this great country!

That's great and all, but oscars aren't what most would consider "aggressive..."

 

[critter_bob]

Part of the joy of keeping natives is the getting. You go out looking to see what is present, or, you know what is present, but it isn't common. So when you find the species you want, and in a size you can use in your tank, BINGO! Its hunting without the killing (if you do it right).

My daughter is much more interested in my fish tanks now that she has helped me stock them. She would never have waded around in the weeds at the shore of a lake, but when it was time to stock my new tank, she was on the other side of the seine, pushing through muck and weeds, hoping for something good to put in the tank! Stuff like that you can never match in your LFS.

 

[Rays of Sunshine]

I<3fish, Oscars can be very aggressive. There are always threads about them killing everything in the tank and I am not talking about during spawning. I could be wrong but I believe that our bowfin is probably as close to a snakehead as Natives are concerned.

There are so many fish that we have that are not discussed. Gars, muskie, Sturgeon, darters, eels, perches, stonerollers, Over 4 types of bass, suckers, snooks, dace, ciscos, sculpins, sticklebacks, shiners, pupfish, shads, minnows, sleepers, pickerels, killifish, gambusia, chubs, sleeper, roach, hog sucker, smelt, catfish, lamprey, buffalo, spinedace, goby, silversides, madtoms, trout, salmon, needlefish, too many sunfish to list, paddlefish and even bull sharks.

People may not be able to keep some of these fish but at least you have an idea that Natives are WORTHY TOO.

 

[warmouth]

That's great and all, but oscars aren't what most would consider "aggressive..."

I had one albino Oscar who killed several "walmart African cichlids" my ex-girlfriend tried to put in with him (because she like the colors). They were about 2 1/2 inches he was about 3 1/2 when this happened.

 

[warmouth]

I<3fish, Oscars can be very aggressive. There are always threads about them killing everything in the tank and I am not talking about during spawning. I could be wrong but I believe that our bowfin is probably as close to a snakehead as Natives are concerned.

There are so many fish that we have that are not discussed. Gars, muskie, Sturgeon, darters, eels, perches, stonerollers, Over 4 types of bass, suckers, snooks, dace, ciscos, sculpins, sticklebacks, shiners, pupfish, shads, minnows, sleepers, pickerels, killifish, gambusia, chubs, sleeper, roach, hog sucker, smelt, catfish, lamprey, buffalo, spinedace, goby, silversides, madtoms, trout, salmon, needlefish, too many sunfish to list, paddlefish and even bull sharks.

People may not be able to keep some of these fish but at least you have an idea that Natives are WORTHY TOO.

Rays once again good point, I expecially like the fact you put in Sleepers, I think they would be very intriguing pets, and some Pupfish are so beautifull it is truly a crime that many of them are on the verge of extinction. I have also wondered about Mooneyes and Goldeyes, I caught one once when I was a kid......very pretty fish with big eyes and I cant help but ponder how they would do in an Aquarium.

 

[I<3fish]

I<3fish, Oscars can be very aggressive. There are always threads about them killing everything in the tank and I am not talking about during spawning. I could be wrong but I believe that our bowfin is probably as close to a snakehead as Natives are concerned.

There are so many fish that we have that are not discussed. Gars, muskie, Sturgeon, darters, eels, perches, stonerollers, Over 4 types of bass, suckers, snooks, dace, ciscos, sculpins, sticklebacks, shiners, pupfish, shads, minnows, sleepers, pickerels, killifish, gambusia, chubs, sleeper, roach, hog sucker, smelt, catfish, lamprey, buffalo, spinedace, goby, silversides, madtoms, trout, salmon, needlefish, too many sunfish to list, paddlefish and even bull sharks.

People may not be able to keep some of these fish but at least you have an idea that Natives are WORTHY TOO.

Lol, they really are not aggressive, they are what most consider semi-aggressive, which basically means flares at another fish every now and then, but that doesn't make them ruthless killers. And when do you see a thread about an oscar killing fish "all the time" other than feeders?

I had one albino Oscar who killed several "walmart African cichlids" my ex-girlfriend tried to put in with him (because she like the colors). They were about 2 1/2 inches he was about 3 1/2 when this happened.

Everyone knows African cichlids and SA cichlids shouldn't be commed together, so this really means little.

 

[Rays of Sunshine]

You don't think our natives should be given credit for being able to hold their own against cichlids or anything else. That is your opinion.

I will tell you this, my 3 oscars that I had were pansies compared to my blue gills and green sunfish. In pure courage and spirit, any of the sunfish I listed and the others(Dollars, Longears and others) will match many cichlids.

Now don't forget there are fish in this world that will destroy your and ours. By comparison, wolf fish, piranha, and so much more would make yours and ours fish on the menu. There is a fish that all would dread coming in contact with, be it fish, human or anything with flesh. The Candiru asu is one of the ultimate aggressors.

Maybe if educated publicity (not putting a 10 lb. bass in a 10 or 20 gallon tank, etc...) was given about Natives that is given to cichlids and other exotics, people would see the significance for local fish.

 

[I<3fish]

Yes, you are right, but piranha's are even more pansier than oscars, and wolf fish are on the menu for peacock bass . Don't get me wrong, most of our sunfish species are aggressive, but saying they beat up oscars is a poor way to support that. And I never said ANYTHING that insinuated that I didn't give our native fish credit or made them look inferior in any way.

 

[Rays of Sunshine]

I<3fish, Thank you for acknowledging the natives have some UMPH!!! Most exotic owners don't think they do. I said, 'Oscars are similar to blue gills with the I"m the Boss attitude towards others and natives are able to hold their own against cichlids or anything else."

When I say that natives can hold their own against the others, I mean this: 1. "Exotics are colorful," so are natives. 2. "Well exotics are more powerful," well so are many natives. 3. "Native fish are boring." Natives are not boring, they are active, color flashing, mood changing fish. 4. "Well our fish can do this and that." Our natives can too.

I look at it like this. Not many people appreciate what is in their backyard. The exotics are food fish, just like ours. The Majority of Native people that have the "Exotics" would not consider keeping these fish as pets either. They are simply a food source just like ours. However, many have found that there is a market for their fish in pet stores, large aquariums and homes.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that overseas, our sunfish, catfish and more are prized for pets. They want to get more but laws prevent them. So it is nice that our natives have popularity elsewhere, even when our people don't.

This same comment is repeated around the world because it probably the same.