Buffalo darter
- Thread starter Notophthalmus
- Start date
beautiful guy.... I envy you, the only good natives we've got up here are sculpins and sticklebacks. where did you collect him?
Thanks, everyone. He's from a small creek in middle Tennessee. This one is male (females are relatively drab), but he's not yet in his full nuptial coloration, which will be even more spectacular.
This individual was about 3" in length, which is typical adult size for his species. Other darters range from less than 1.5" to nearly a foot, and most of them have brightly colored males.
Jaysen- yes, all darters live in freshwater, and they are endemic to the US and Canada (east of the Rockies). Most species live in smaller streams, but there are also big-river and swamp darters. Some of the swamp-dwelling species are common stowaways in feeder shrimp tanks.
*EDIT* Most darters make good aquarium inhabitants, provided you can give them a little current and lots of bloodworms, blackworms, and other live or frozen inverts.
This individual was about 3" in length, which is typical adult size for his species. Other darters range from less than 1.5" to nearly a foot, and most of them have brightly colored males.
Jaysen- yes, all darters live in freshwater, and they are endemic to the US and Canada (east of the Rockies). Most species live in smaller streams, but there are also big-river and swamp darters. Some of the swamp-dwelling species are common stowaways in feeder shrimp tanks.
*EDIT* Most darters make good aquarium inhabitants, provided you can give them a little current and lots of bloodworms, blackworms, and other live or frozen inverts.
FL22- There are actually a couple of people selling darters online; PM me if you want their links.
jm1212- There are lots of beautiful fish in IL; you just have to look in some of the less-impacted waters. Carp are abundant nearly everywhere; they're the trashiest of trash fish (no offense to you koi keepers!).
jm1212- There are lots of beautiful fish in IL; you just have to look in some of the less-impacted waters. Carp are abundant nearly everywhere; they're the trashiest of trash fish (no offense to you koi keepers!).
Cool fish! I've always wanted one of those. I used to keep a few swamp darters. They're great additions to an aquarium. They have unique personalities. They ate almost anything, and cleaned any leftovers around.
Dip a net through the shoreline of a lake or river. You might be surprised what you catch. I'm pretty sure there are a few different kinds of darters in Illinois.
Dip a net through the shoreline of a lake or river. You might be surprised what you catch. I'm pretty sure there are a few different kinds of darters in Illinois.
That's amazing, I would think most people would die for a fish like that in their tank :huh:
