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| Tadpole Madtoms (was Re: hello? is anyone there/here?) |
Wright Huntley
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Broken Tiger wrote:
Hi troi and all, I'm more than willing to discuss other topics, though I was under the possibly-mistaken impression that this list was a sort of catch-all for bay area fish topics (like detritus). Most real fish stuff, itself, gets handled pretty much by the specialty groups, leaving SFAS as the easist remaining general bay-area target. ;-) Your interest in catfish brings up a serious question. Do you know how to breed any of our native catfishes? There is considerable interest in the breeder's club of the Native Fishes Conservancy (NFC) to determine all the breeding habits of the Madtoms. They are dwarf catfish that look a bit like a tiny bullhead, and make just excellent aquarium inhabitants. Mine are roughly 3" full grown -- about the size of a bullfrog tadpole or a bit smaller, hence the subject name. They are really cute, too. I've bred a variety of Amazonian armored cats, but don't have much idea where to start on these guys. They need cooler conditions than I can provide, I'm pretty sure. Someone who does Koi and Goldfish would probably know what I mean. I currently have a few Tadpole Madtoms of indeterminant sex that I would be happy to pass on to anyone who would like to study these guys, determine how they can be bred in captivity, and report the results (if any). If anyone was interested in serious work on them, I'm sure I can get more starting stock, too, perhaps from somewhat warmer water than these (Idaho). Tadpole Madtoms (*Noturus gyrinus*) range from well up into Canada (Hudson's Bay) clear to the Gulf of Mexico and down into Florida. NFC's motives aren't complicated. 18 species of *Noturus* have been placed under special state protection, already. Habitat destruction is ever present. These fish are plentiful in the wild, right now, but habitats have a way of getting destroyed. Understanding the behaviour of the fish, and being able to readily reproduce them in aquaria means wild collections can be reduced or halted, as needed, and we can still have the strain around if a particular habitat is rendered useless by a spill or another government damn. The opportunity to study them up close and personal is gratifying to many folks, and we wish to do it responsibly (legally, too). One big condition! They must never be released into the wild except under F&WL guidance. Keeping in a pond is risky, if it could ever flood. I don't dare keep them in a pond outside, here in Fremont, for example. They would be a potential threat to our native 3-spine Sticklebacks if they washed into a storm drain. All I can add is that they spawn in caves (PVC pipe?) and need really good water. See Goldstein's book _American Aquarium Fishes_ for most of what we know about them. They have rarely been bred in captivity, so anyone doing it can potentially learn quite a lot that's new. How about it Troi? You (or anyone else interested) can respond here or off list. This looks to be a fun challenge, and an opportunity to pay back something to a hobby that tends to hand us such information pretty freely. Wright PS. While on the subject, would there be enough of us in the Bay Area to form a "Catfish Study Group?" Does one already exist? My primary interest has been in the pygmy Cory species, like *C. hastatus*, *habrosus*, and *pygmaeus*, though I used to breed *paleatus* some years ago. -- Wright Huntley, Fremont CA, USA, 510 494-8679 huntleyone at home dot com "As government regulations grow slowly, we become used to the harness. Habit is a powerful force, and we no longer feel as intensely as we once would have [the] constriction of our liberties that would have been utterly intolerable a mere half century ago." --Judge Robert Bork *** http://www.libertarian.org/ *** |
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