The Flagfin Shiner (Pteronotropis signippinnis) as an Aquarium Species
Robert Rice
2213 Prytania Circle Navarre Florida 32566
904-936-0097
email robertrice@juno.com
Lying quietly back in the small tannic coastal springs of  Florida and 
Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana is the Flagfin shiner . He lives as a 
virtual unknown to those who live around him. He is one of the most colorful 
and tolerant aquarium species around. He also is one of the most obscure. 
This common Southeastern shiner should be a shining star of the aquarium. He 
rivals all the well known tropicals in looks and he surpasses almost all of 
them in toughness.  He takes flake , frozen and every other kind of food with 
relish. Once established in the tank he is gentle, almost disease free, and 
showy. He is an excellent community tank member. Unfortunately he has 
remained an unknown species to the Aquarist, and to a greater degree the 
general public. Only a few odd collectors, NANFA members and fisheries 
personnel even know he's  there.
In this country there has developed a shyness of sorts against keeping common 
native species.  Why ? Who knows? Fortunately this species is one of 
literally hundreds of North American Native Species that are suitable 
aquarium species. They pass the Aquarist test they are colorful , durable and 
 breedable. All the priorities a serious Aquarist should have .  The only 
missing factor for most Aquarist is information . Is there public information 
on breeding habits, food requirements etc. ? In this case the answer is no. 
There are little or no public records available on most North American Native 
Species in general , and the Flagfin Shiner in specific. With the exception 
of the odd article in small native fish clubs like NANFA's publication 
American Currents this species has remained anonymous. While this lack of 
species documentation presents a challenge , it is not an insurmountable one 
.  
Aquarist unique skills in breeding and rearing unusual species  would change 
the published life history for this species and so many others in a 
heartbeat. Imagine the day when all the State agencies have full and complete 
life histories on this and other species without spending a dime . This input 
from Aquarist could help preserve the species. The agencies would know the 
how, when and why of  breeding, they would know the intricacies of raising 
and rearing. In short they would know the Flagfin Shiner or any other species 
Aquarists set there sights on. How could the state agencies get all that 
information for free ? The answer is simple and can be summed up in one word 
, Communicate . Aquarist can do that !  If we can breed and raise and 
document habits of rare Discus and Cichlids , then unusual  temperate water 
species should be a snap. We should share our results with the local 
fisheries personnel and Colleges then the whole country and the Flagfin 
shiner could benefit! Fisheries personnel would then take our requests for 
expanded legislated access to Native Fishes more seriously if we shared 
breeding, rearing and collecting data with the greater fisheries community.
You decide the Flagfin sounds like an interesting fish and you'd like to try 
this native species for your next tank. You have a few questions first. You 
want to know is it worth the time and effort to do a serious attempt at 
breeding and rearing ? Will it be colorful ? Will I be proud of my Native 
Species tank ? Basically , is this fish one I should spend my time, money and 
efforts on ? The answer to all the questions is yes. For a unbiased opinion 
here is what the benchmark of native fish guides  Peterson's Field Guide to 
Freshwater Fishes  by Larry M. Page and Brooks M. Burr says about the Flagfin 
Shiner (keep in mind this excellent book is written for the Scholar/Biologist 
in the field not the Aquarist ( page 118 ) " Identification :  Olive Gold 
above; upper side yellow front red at rear: broad blue black stripe along 
side with vertical orange dashes; pale gold lower side; gold snout. Red 
orange edge on yellow dorsal, caudal, anal, and pelvic fins ; yellow pectoral 
fins deep compressed body, strongly tapering to caudical peduncle..........". 
Beautiful, common, unloved  and unknown , a prime candidate for the efforts 
of the serious Aquarist .
Certainly the Flagfin Shiner is a colorful fish and when compared with the 
various tetra's and danios out there, it is defiantly worthy of a serious 
look . Let's say you are a Naturalist at heart . You have decided you want to 
take the challenge and rear and breed the Flagfin Shiner . Well first off, I 
congratulate you , and second off , I warn you. Most likely you will fail 
several times before you succeed. You are venturing into uncharted waters. 
There is scant documentation out there. Do not be discouraged that is  part 
of the learning process. Here is my experience with this "Rose of the South". 
When I have collected this shiner it is always in coastal seepage springs. 
Seepage springs , are springs with no particular head to them. All along the 
bed of the spring are very small little seeps that bubble a small amount of 
spring water. What this does is equilibrate the temperature all along the 
small creek beds that this species occurs. You see , with no central 
concentration of spring water there is no hot or cold end to the spring. It 
bubbles along with a bit here , and a bit there , and in general maintains a 
very constant temperature , pH and salinity all the while remaining pretty 
insignificant (usually less than 6 feet across). During a creeks long 
ramblings it picks up large amounts of leaf  litter and pine needles thus it 
maintains a tannic , acidic quality throughout it's  stretch. This leaf  
litter gives it it's tannic nature. Typically these "springs" vary only 
slightly in temperature  ( 65-71 degrees F) and pH (6.0.- 6.5) during a year. 
This constancy is the key to rearing this species .
The Flagfin is often the most common fish in the places it inhabits. It is 
easy to collect and a lot of fun . If you are able to collect the species 
yourself  with a day or weekend trip, by all means do so. It is the type of 
collecting many people pay thousands  of dollars for. It's tannic home and 
the variety of flora and fauna you encounter during your collecting trip will 
make you believe you are in a deep , dark foreign land. Luckily for you may 
be able to collect the Flagfin Shiner for the cost of gasoline, time, lunch 
and a fishing license. The streams in which it occurs are cool , comfortable 
and a pleasure to seine or dipnet. These tannic creeks usually carry few if 
any predatory species and a nice variety of Darters, Shiners and plants. 
Check your Peterson's Guide, your local Department of Natural Resources folks 
or a NANFA member for suitable locations to collect and local regulations. 
With a bit of research you will find them an ease to find and collect. 
  Suddenly you realize you have caught the dreaded Native Fish fever . What 
now ? You sadly realize collecting this species is just not a possibility ? 
Perhaps  your physical limitations preclude you from collecting this fish? 
What if you live in Alberta Canada or Des Moines Iowa ? Inspite of all this 
you are still burning with the fever to rear and breed this fish ! Relax, 
there are regular trading post sections in NANFA's publications which can 
help you get suitable specimens with little sweat ! If you are not a NANFA 
member and would like a trading post anyway try their WEBSITE at 
WWW.NANFA.ORG or the NANFE echo on the fido net , or email me or  send me a 
self addressed stamp envelope. I'd be happy to send you a trading post (see 
end of article for details). Trading posts are fast becoming the most 
economical way to acquire native species ! Make a trade , it is easy . 
Perhaps you are uncertain what you have to offer as a trade (many people love 
to trade tropicals for natives and vice versa) ! In many cases if you just 
have nothing to trade some people are happy to send you fish at no charge,  
of course you must be willing to pay the postage .I use priority mail with a 
very high success rate.
--- Maximus/2 3.01
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