Rosy red minnows-discussion thread

WOW...I never thought much about the feeders i buy for my flower horn,and jack dempsey.Great article........

They will survive lower temps than 55. I have kept them in my small garden pond for several years now. It freeze over the top but not solid.

I do not use koi because the pond is too small. I don't use goldfish either because I want amphibians to breed there too and gold will eat the eggs.
The rosies are easy to see in a dark pond and take care of mosquito larva. They breed and I do have lots of normal colored ones, a higher percentage than I started with, but after 8 years I still have plenty of rosy ones. I added a separate stream/pond and I only added the rose colored ones to it. I'm hoping they will not revert without a normal color to breed.

I keep rosy yellows.

They breed in my outdoor ponds and are good at eating mosquito larva. They live under ice when the temperature gets to -35 and still come back each spring.

I have then gather in shoals of 1,000 or more but have never seen them school (yet anyway)

The one pic is while building a pond.

wow that is an impressive series of ponds. i can only hope for something like that.
i have used about 15 rosy minnows to cycle my 75 gallon tank a few years back. they were hardy and eventually kept with large pool commets. at one point a large male chased everyone away from a large cave in the right corner but i never saw any eggs or fry. the males definitely have some attitude and are a very underrated aquarium fish. i plan to use them for a nice shoal when i build the pond of my dreams.

I am really curious about raising these. What kind o filtration do tey generally required? I was thinking box/sponge for breeding? i was going to use the really large 106qt rubbermaid containers. would this work? will they breed at room temp?? or will i need a heater?
Thanks,
Trevor

Mine spawned in a 150 Gal Rubbermaid tub outside last summer. I dont think you need a heater as they are a cold water species siminlar to white clouds.

Ok, that you Laudy!

I used to breed them for use in aquatic bioassays. We kept pairs in 15 gal tanks with a 4" section of 1.5" pvc cut in half lengthwise. They spawn on the roof of the created cave.

So, the male takes care of the eggs right???? Could i have a large tub and let nature takes its course???