The Misers guide to Native fish keeping
by
Robert Rice
A  lot  of  us  would  like to Native keep  fish.  We  enjoy watching   and  
learning  about our local species  but  just don't  want to spend the kind of 
money the folks at the  pet store  tell us we need to just for a basic tank.  
I  have  a solution, treat those fish the way they deserve. Treat those fish 
the natural way. You can have an inexpensive attractive tank  that  is not 
high maintenance. Contrary to  what  they tell  you  a  power  filter on the 
back of  a  tank  is  not necessarily  the best way to run a tank  on  a  
budget.
Power filters do a good job of pulling wastes and debris out of the water but 
do not do a good job of Biological
filtration which is much more important. Think  about  it ,how good for a 
tank can it be to  have  the water  run
through a sponge full of fish wastes all day?  So follow  my step by step 
plan and you will have a clean  tank the envy
of the neighborhood.
First  off stop buying retail. If you really are on a budget keep  you  eyes 
open for used tanks and hoods at  a  garage sale  or  the  local paper. I 
make it a rule to never  spend more  than 1$ a gallon for used setups. A 
setup must include a tank and hood with lights. For tank stands I bridge the
tank between cinderblocks  covered  in sheets, curtains,  or whatever  looks 
nice.  Half   used chemicals  like pH up or down or whatever go  right  in  
the garbage You do not know the age or usefulness of these chemicals so get 
rid of them. Besides we are on a budget and can't afford the extras ,
right? Now comes the placement of this tank. Anywhere is
fine as long as you stay away from windows and heat vents. I have kept rows 
of tanks in my basement, garage and carport. The second thing to do is to 
decide weather this is a tank
for shiners and darters or a sunfish tank. If it is a darter /shiner tank  
you will need a powerhead and a undergravel
filter. The place to buy your undergravel filter and  the
gravel  is  ,surprise, the chain  hardware  stores (Lowes,
Menards, Home Depot etc.) They have 50 pound bags of river
pea  gravel in a variety of colors  for  about  2  -3
dollars. They intend it for landscaping purposes . However
with a scrubbing with  the hose  you've  got  your gravel.
They also sell  a  variety  of plastic grids used for light covers and what 
not for about 1-2  dollars. Take one of
those, cut it to fit and punch  a  hole for  the  powerhead intake tube and 
you are in business.  Of course  old
undergravel filters and old powerheads are  usually
available  for a song at garage sales. So  keep you eyes
peeled  If  it's a sunfish tank,  all you need  is a  gravel bed. Here's the 
trick you need a thick gravel  bed. I  like about  6  inches  be it for  
shiners,  darters,  or sunfish. This gravel bed performs a very important  
purpose and
without it you will have a high maintenance tank.  This bed provides   homes 
for the good guy bacteria  that  break down fish wastes. This biological 
filtration breaks down wastes
and keeps the water fresh and pure. So get that gravel bed
going first.
Next  step after you put 6 inches of gravel and the optional powerhead   
setup. It's time to get creative. First  off, go ahead  fill up your tank you 
might have to add one chemical . Nowadays you just cant  let water  "age" 
like the old
days. The chemical complexity  of chloramine  makes water
unsuitable for  fish  until  it  is completely removed from the water. You 
could call your  water company  and find out if they use chloramine. Perhaps  
they just use chlorine. If so you can then avoid the chemicals by letting the 
 water
age 72 hours. If not use something  that removes,.
chloramine,  your choice of  brands,  but  make it
inexpensive.  OK you have your garage sale tank  setting on those  charming  
cinder  blocks. You  placed  it  away from windows  and heat vents. It's full 
of water and  gravel and looks  pretty good. Congratulations you are a third  
if the way there.
It's  time  to take a look around and find a place tocollect some  plants.  
EEEK  you say collect plants  !  Yepwithout
suitable  vegetation this whole mix will not  work and  you would  be  forced 
 to purchase (yuk) some more higher  tech equipment.  Find  some rooted 
plants that  aretolerant  of
lower   light   and  grow  well in  cooler waters.  In  the Native   category 
watersprite, cabomba, elodea, and giant
val, come to mind. In the non Native category  several types of swords and 
Java fern  fit the bill. You don't have to
"collect" all of them borrow  a few from  another tank or
from a friend. You  will  need  3 plants  per gallon
ultimately. However for now 1 per  gallon should get you
started. Go ahead and plant them in the tank.  With that
thick gravel bed the plants should be easy to bury in the
bottom of the tank, completely covering their roots.  It's
getting close to fish time.
Now  you  have waited a few days, set things up on a  budget and  are  pretty 
proud of what you've got going on.  If  you have the powerhead option, turn 
it on. The lights should
stay on  at least 10 hours a day. Biology should start
kicking in and  things  are starting to cook. Find the
healthiest  tank you  can find and beg , borrow or steal a
handful of gravel.  Take the gravel and put it in your tank. The old gravel 
will "seed"  the tank. The good guy bacteria will have the inside track on 
things. Now that you have done the above it is time to  add fish. You can add 
fish but not many and not to fast.  Start with either 1 sunfish or 4
darter/shiners. That's it.
OK you got your tank, your plants and your fish and suddenly your  tank gets 
cloudy, what's wrong ? Nothing, you  are  on the  right  track. The cloud is 
caused by a bacteria  bloom. The  seeded  bacteria has found a new home and 
has  gone  to town. In a few days things will clear up . You have your few 
fish, your few plants what next ? Stick by your guns and  do NOT give in to 
your desire to feed the fishes three squares a  day.  This  set up is 
dependent upon a more natural  food schedule . Feed 2 times a week and that 
is it ! No more,  in nature fish get a large meal once a week or so and spend 
the rest of their time nibbling on plants and what not. Simulate that  at  
home. Besides who wants to pay for all that  extra food  anyway ? If all is 
going well after 2 weeks it is time to  add  a few more fish. Remember how 
many you added  a few weeks  back  ?  Add the same amount this time  and 
continue every three weeks or so until you reach the 1 sunfish per  3 gallons 
or the 1 shiner/darter per gallon limit.
Now   comes   the   extremely  difficult,   time   consuming maintenance of 
this setup. Twice a month use a gravel vacuum and  remove  20%  of the water 
while vacuuming  r  of  the
gravel. A gravel vacuum for those who don't know is a siphon with a big end 
and a small end .The big end gets pushed into the  gravel  and  the little 
end goes into the  bucket.  The gravel pulls up about halfway up the big end 
and then  falls back  while  the dirt heads to the bucket. For a  20  gallon 
tank  this will take about 10 minutes. Exhausting isn't  it? At  some  point 
algae will build up on the tank. Go  to  the grocery  store  pick  up  one of 
those  plastic  brillo  pad looking  dish scrubbers. The ones without any 
soap or
chemicals on them please. When it is necessary, use it to
wipe the glass  clean.  That's it your tank maintenance is
done.
If  the  plants prosper and you don't get to crazy with  the food and the 
fish you are home free. With a little luck your natives  will thrive and 
perhaps even spawn. This  low  tech setup  has served me well I have kept and 
bred a great  many species  in them with little expense or problems. I hope  
it does  the same for you . Until next time good luck and  good fishing!
--- Maximus/2 3.01
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