I was considering collecting some native killifish. The Banded Killifish happens to be native to my area and I want to know are there possibly regulations on collecting them? Do I need to contact the fish and game commision? Anyways I just started with killifish I have a pair of Striatum , which are adults, and 5 Akure fry that have not gotten their colors yet. I had read that killifish are everywhere except Australia and the Antartic so my curiousity got the best of me and I looked up my <state name> killifish and it happened to be the banded killifish that was native. So anyways I am thinking of collecting some so I can start breeding them. I figure why not maintain a native species. We get all sorts of killifish from around the world why not give the native killifish a go. So anyways who would I contact in general? Does anyone currently breed Banded killifish or at some point bred them in the past? I would like to find out as much as I can about them keeping them in the aquarium. So all information is welcome. Thanks.

I collect native killies and fish. I too started collecting native fish for aquariums by looking for native killies. I have Northern Studfish(Fundulus specie easy to find on the web) in some of my tanks currently. Each states rules are different. In Cali. it is illegal to keep native fish of Cali. Here in TN all you have to have is a net and a fishing license as long as you do not sell the wild caught fish but you are free to sell all tank raised offspring from them. In some states it is illegal to take live fish away from the body of water you caught them in. So check with your states fish and game people. It maybe as simple as reading the regulation book on the fishing licenses booklets or contacting a local game warden.

Later, John

Ok thanks. I will call the fish and game people. Anyways can you please email some of the pics of the killifish you collected locally to me? my email is Srtom64@aol.com I am just curious. Label the email killifish pics if you do so I know. If you do thanks.

if you'll tell us where you're located, maybe someone already knows. I collected some zebrinus this weekend here in Oklahoma.. All you need is a fishing license here and I believe Texas is the same way.. Kyle

Only picture I have is a dead male or pictures taken in bags which turned out bad. I have them in an outdoor set up hoping for fry. There are plenty of pictures on the web for Northern Studfish. Not the most colorful fish but not drab either. I hope to take some of these tank raised fish and bring them inside. The first ones I brought into a tank died by banging themselves into the sides and lid of the tank. The idea is these will have lived in a big box outside and are used to me feeding it regularly so they will not be so likely to kill themselves. I did have the whole tank covered with a blanket and the room dark yet I kept hearing a knocking sound all night. The ones outside seem to be doing well but I have not found any fry yet. I am moving some plants from one tank to the next as well and still nothing. But I can always hope.

Later, John

Before collecting them, search the web to see what's involved with breeding them. A lot of the natives, like Fundulus catenatus, the "Northern Studfish" (pic at http://jonahsaquarium.com/picfundcatenat.htm)
and the banded killi (Fundulus Zebrinus) are not readily bred in captivity, you'd be better off leaving them where they are.

Google or MSN search are your friends for finding breeding information. Lots of our native fish aren't kept in captivity because they're simply not breedable in the ordinary hobbyist setup for any prolonged period of time. You might get a spawn, and maybe raise a generation, and they won't look as good as their wild counterparts and keeping them for prolonged periods of time won't work, either.

Plus, they're not popular in AKA. List them on F&E and you'll be lucky to get a couple responses.

From the reading I did on the studfish they can be easy to breed in captivity but need larger tanks. They are a plant spawning killie. The large male I brought home the first time was 6 1/4 inches from mouth to tail. The outdoor set up should work as it has a pump for filtration and current(low amount), plants, and even some gravel in the bottom. It get only about 10% water change weekly, but with only 5 of these fish in the tank which hold 90 gallons of water and plants pulling nutrients out.

Your right in that they normally are not found in the AKA. I think the reason is more size as many killie keepers dislike the larger ones as they take up to much space in the fish rooms. To often people do not look in their back yard to find great aquarium fish. I know I have kept different perches(bluegill, pumpkinseeds, black, ect.) with good results. Again it is low numbers per tank and large tanks. Also catching wild fish is a good way introduce diseases/parasites into your fish room. But you just quaratine them for longer period of time than tank raised fish and treat as needed.

Later, John

I think wild fish get a bad rep for bringing in diseases. They're used to tougher conditions in most ways (though, they are used to much cleaner water than what we provide indoors). My experience with wild collected goodeids (a sort of livebearing killie) is that if they survived the trip home, they acclimated trivially and adapted nicely to indoor living. Likewise with the few times I collected darters while living in the Northeast.

My technique was, if I knew I was going collecting, to empty a couple of well established tanks of their occupants and put the wild fish in them, plus I always tried (not always successfully) to avoid overcrowding them. Live foods were a must initially, either bbs or adult brine shrimp. Darters loved blackworms. Eventually I could wean all the fish, except the darters, onto prepared food. YMMV.

The chance for bring in disease is there but like the above states they are not that bad about it. I just would hate to bring something in and kill or infect my other fish. So a long quaratine is normally all I do. With many of the natives you need to use battery powered air pumps to get them home alive and always collect them and put them directly into a cooler if you only bag them or if you are only collecting one location just dump all the fish and water into the cooler. I use a standard cheap air pump and have a power converter from 12 volt DC(cigarette lighter plug) to 110 volts AC. It has many more uses than the battery operated pumps so it works out.

Yes live food is the best but many species will take frozen foods from the start. I have several cultures of live food and try to use them for the wild caught fish(grindal are great but small for many of the ones I have caught).

Later, John

Wow that Northern Studfish is really amazing looking. Out of curiousity for both the Studfish and Banded Killifish, what size tank do they need ? I would like to at some point maybe get my hands on both. I have to wait until next Summer to get any as I am leaving for college at the end of August and I will have enough killifish to get ready to move to my dorm with me. 2 Striatum 5 Akures and who knows how many bator I will have. I am waiting for my bator eggs. The breeder did not tell me I had to wait to hatch them otherwise I guess it shocks them and kills some eggs and shocks some into hatching and they are weak and die. I have not bred fish myself yet. So he is resending eggs with specific directions. So I am set until next Summer for killifish but come next Summer I will be looking for an apartment and getting more tanks. So now I am just doing research. I love the personality of the Akures they are still unsexable my Aunt got them as extras and said they would get eaten in her tank and I could have them. It is funny to watch them eat freeze dried bloodworm some pieces are a bit big so they hang out of their mouths and they suck them in. First time I have fed them freeze dried. I have been feeding exclusively frozen but I am running a little low on frozen and have to wait for my pay check to get more frozen food for them. I am just going to give the killifish freeze dried in the morning and frozen at night. They really went nuts for the freeze dried bloodworms as soon as they relized they were food. The Striatum don't seem to care for the flakes but they really went nuts for the freeze dried bloodworms. I have not bothered feeding flakes to my Akures I really do not care for flakes at all. Frozen and freeze dried seem to be enjoyed the most by the killifish. I have not been able to collect eggs from the striatum as I can not find a yarn that I think is safe to make a spawning mop I tried acrylic but it leached chemicals when I boiled it a few times over and never stopped leaching them so I threw it away. I just don't want to hurt them. I saw 2 eggs the other day in the Java moss but I went to do something to wait for them to harden and the killifish made a snack of them. Oh well though better luck next time.