Are Native Minnows Good Pets?

So I put a single minnow from my local creek into my tank about a week ago. Just as a kinda of test. There are no other fish in the tank. The little guy seems to be in good health. I'm a beginner so I don't know what a healthy fish looks like. But he's active and eating well. I did some research and I think he might be a brassy minnow. But take a look for your self.

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• AnimalAntics
• Aug 7, 2018

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• AnimalAntics
• Aug 7, 2018

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• AnimalAntics
• Aug 7, 2018

He is being kept in a 10 gallon tank. I normally don't just get a pet like this with minimal research at the time. But the thought that I could let him back into the wild at any time was comforting.
Theres also the ethical stand point of the fact that I took the fish out of his natural habitat and plopped him in my tank. And I would like to hear your opinion on that. My stance is that because I took him out of his natural habitat Its my job to provide him with a nice home. The brassy minnow id was a maybe at best so if you have idea what he is that would be great. goodbye! oh one last thing, I'm trying to think of a name so suggestions would be welcome!

 

I personally would never take a wild fish and put it in my tank. I always try to make sure any fish I buy are captive bred. I think it's very unfair to take a fish who is used to having a huge amount of space and can eat live foods, real algae or whatever and put it in a small tank and feed it flakes or pellets.

I'm pretty sure minnows are schooling fish so that's another issue. When you caught it was it not with a huge group of its own kind? Even if you went and got 5 more that will never compare to the amount it used to school with.

I have a 63 gallon tank. When I buy fish I like to think that my tank is probably the best tank they have ever lived in and they will get to live there for the rest of their life. It is larger than the tanks I've bought them from and probably larger than the tanks the rest of the fish go to. I try to feed them a massive variety of food but if course it isn't natural for them to be eating cucumber, peas and boiled egg though they like it.
However when getting a fish from the wild and putting it in a tank you are almost always making its life worse, usually the only thing you are helping is reducing the risk of predators and maybe helping if there is a particularly bad winter that kills some.

Also that tank looks kind of bare. What did his creek look like? If there was lots of driftwood and stuff maybe you could collect that for a more natural look. Almost like a biotope. If there was lots of leaves you could buy some Indian almond leaves. I would also heavily plant at least a bit of the tank so he has somewhere to go if scared.

I don't know the rules around collecting fish and keeping them. You'd have to check that. But I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to release them back into the wild again.

It would be good to indentify him. Unfortunately I'm no help with that. But when you do find out do lots of research on him. Maybe go back to that creek and see how the wild ones are behaving too.

Anyway if I was in your position now I would start off by checking rules around collecting and releasing fish. If you had just had him for a day or so I would have just released him. If you can't release him but you can collect fish then I would recommend massively upgrading his tank -or even putting him in a pond with a good filter- and getting him 10 or more buddies.

 

I would never take a native species and place it in an aquarium because they are used to the big open space and they can travel anywhere they want to, where an aquarium confines them. They also have a different diet and feeding them regular fish food isn't gonna cut it because they may be missing nutrients from what they can get from their other food scources. You also don't know what they might bring with them because they might have parasites and introducing it to an aquarium isn't good (such as whirling diesease). They have such a great home in the wild where it's filtered, natural temperature, and unlimited space. As a fellow Albertian I also wanted to keep native fish species. My dad's boss got a bucket of fish that look like tadpoles and I wanted to keep them, but weighing the pros and cons, I let them go. It's also highly illegal in Alberta to take indigenous fish out a body of water and transport it. It extends to minnows too and has a fine with it. I'm sorry to say this but I would immediately release it back into the wild because of these reasons.

 

It's a blacknose dace. It eats algae and small insects and invertebrates. it's easy to keep, grows to 3-4 inches, and needs a little current. I plan to get one for my 37 gallon native tank.

 

I've kept sticklebacks. The problem with taking river fish is that they need high, high, high flow and your tank is probably too warm even unheated. I don't have any issue with it morally provided people aren't decimating the population.

 

I don’t have a problem with taking native wild species (a huge majority of fish in stores are wild-caught) However I would rather give them a giant tank built to resemble the spot I found them in down to the substrate.

Native plants might not work, but I would probably go for a 120 gallon at least for a native fish tank. That way I can have massive schools that resemble those I saw in my local creek.
However a 120 would be necessary for a lot of my native species (largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, more sunfish than you can shake a stick at)

For you, if you can supply it’s needs and something remarkably similar to its wild location in terms of scape I say you’re fine.

 

Thanks BottomDweller, you gave me a new perspective on things.

 

As a biologist...it's a grey area. If it is a very common species and CAN be maintained easily in a home aquarium, then collecting the correct number for its desired school size and keeping them to study is acceptable--that's how all aquarium species started. If its habitat is being destroyed or is threatened, I would say it is imperative to collect species and try to maintain a breeding population. BUT as other have said, you have to look into the laws where you live, and follow them. Identify the species ASAP (I think someone did above), so you know their care and if that care is within your capabilities. And if it is a species you can't identify (it's not listed among the native species on your local university or Fish and Wildlife websites), then send pictures to your university/F&W for identification--it could be an invasive species, or (less likely) a new species.

I've seen a lot of youtube videos lately on people wild-catching fish, either for their hobby, as part of an expedition, or just to show people what's out there. Many of them are in the more tropical areas of the US or their home countries and are catching common or invasive fish, some others recently went to Peru. At one point in the video they were at a pond/stream, and their guide told them it was where they first identified and collected Corydoras sp. CW016--their habitat is now completely silted over due to illegal gold mining, and there is a possibility that rare species is completely gone from its natural habitat. In those cases--and in so many others--what has been collected and bred in captivity are all that are left. I hope in the future to join the efforts of many in the livebearer community, who are maintaining healthy populations of livebearers which are threatened in their native lands.

That said...I'm not a big fan of capturing and keeping fish from where I live, mostly because I don't think I could do it adequately Keeping my Betta splendens is challenging me right now--I don't want to think of what challenges some species with less well defined needs would bring >_<

 

Minnows are taken by the thousands to use as fishing bait. One little minnow placed in an aquarium is likely to live a better life than it could ever have had in the wild, contrary to the opinions voiced above. Do not let the naysayers discourage your efforts to learn. And whatever you do, do not release the fish back into the wild now that you have taken it out. Even though you have kept it isolated, this can still spread disease into native populations, and is the reason many states are currently warning fishermen against dumping bait minnows in small lakes.

I do agree that it would be better off with a small school of its own kind, as are all schooling fish. This would require an upgrade from a 10 to at least a long 20. And checking the laws would be a good idea, but it's not like they're going to come and knock down your door over a few baitfish.

 

All these ethical answers as to not taking a minnow from the wild, while admirable, is at the same time not facing reality.

When I was a teenager, I used to live right by a huge lake, and worked at a small store / bait shop. We sold live bait, I have in that time period bagged up more fishing minnows then I could count. We would sale these minnows by the dozen to people using them for live bait.

There are a lot of things I would not do, as for as taking animals form the wild and caging them. But a minnow, well that is not exactly much of an impact one way or the other, even if a person caught two dozen, it would still not make any difference. Is it cruel to that minnow, well is it cruel to put a live minnow on a fishing hook no matter where it came from?

Is it cruel to use live crickets to feed a pet reptile? Is the minnow more important then the cricket?

I know people that go to the beach and seine for wild shad, and use these to catch bigger fish.

 

Nice fish, I think they are good. Just give a try!

 

All these ethical answers as to not taking a minnow from the wild, while admirable, is at the same time not facing reality.

When I was a teenager, I used to live right by a huge lake, and worked at a small store / bait shop. We sold live bait, I have in that time period bagged up more fishing minnows then I could count. We would sale these minnows by the dozen to people using them for live bait.

There are a lot of things I would not do, as for as taking animals form the wild and caging them. But a minnow, well that is not exactly much of an impact one way or the other, even if a person caught two dozen, it would still not make any difference. Is it cruel to that minnow, well is it cruel to put a live minnow on a fishing hook no matter where it came from?

Is it cruel to use live crickets to feed a pet reptile? Is the minnow more important then the cricket?

I know people that go to the beach and seine for wild shad, and use these to catch bigger fish.

Err... the only issue I have is that a "minnow" could be one of some hundred species of Cyprinidae, some of which are endangered. It's also not uncommon in some parts of the US for a "minnow" to colloquially refer to an immature fish of any species. Here in Washington you can only use live fish as bait in a certain section of the Columbia River, and they have to be "foraging fish". I haven't looked into the specific guidelines for catching fish for the aquarium hobby here, but I would strongly suspect that you would need a licence and that there would be a lot of restrictions, even on minnows...

 

You just pay like an extra $14-20 for a trappers permit or whatever it's called, and all you need is a minnow trap that has a tag stating your name address and I think that's about it.
We do it up here in Wisconsin all the time especially for ice fishing

 

would be a lot of restrictions, even on minnows...

I don’t think so, but of course it can differ state by state. Even if other states require a permit, I don’t see why they would make it difficult to obtain, if the fish has a creel limit and are sold at bait and tackle stores. I can see why a obtaining one would seem restrictive. The less we know, the more we think something is complicated, when it really isn’t. In NJ, all that’s required is a fishing license. There is an additional permit for collecting shellfish and crabbing, but it only costs $2 (if I recall), which I can purchase online. Fish under “baitfish species” include golden shiner, banded killifish, mummichog, spotfin killifish, rainwater killifish, American brook lamprey, fathead minnow, bluntnose minnow, tadpole madtom, margined madtom, all shiners, daces, minnows, chubs and the American eel. The limit is 35 per day per person. More than that requires a commercial permit.

 

I personally would never take a wild fish and put it in my tank. I always try to make sure any fish I buy are captive bred. I think it's very unfair to take a fish who is used to having a huge amount of space and can eat live foods, real algae or whatever and put it in a small tank and feed it flakes or pellets.

I'm pretty sure minnows are schooling fish so that's another issue. When you caught it was it not with a huge group of its own kind? Even if you went and got 5 more that will never compare to the amount it used to school with.

I have a 63 gallon tank. When I buy fish I like to think that my tank is probably the best tank they have ever lived in and they will get to live there for the rest of their life. It is larger than the tanks I've bought them from and probably larger than the tanks the rest of the fish go to. I try to feed them a massive variety of food but if course it isn't natural for them to be eating cucumber, peas and boiled egg though they like it.
However when getting a fish from the wild and putting it in a tank you are almost always making its life worse, usually the only thing you are helping is reducing the risk of predators and maybe helping if there is a particularly bad winter that kills some.

Also that tank looks kind of bare. What did his creek look like? If there was lots of driftwood and stuff maybe you could collect that for a more natural look. Almost like a biotope. If there was lots of leaves you could buy some Indian almond leaves. I would also heavily plant at least a bit of the tank so he has somewhere to go if scared.

I don't know the rules around collecting fish and keeping them. You'd have to check that. But I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to release them back into the wild again.

It would be good to indentify him. Unfortunately I'm no help with that. But when you do find out do lots of research on him. Maybe go back to that creek and see how the wild ones are behaving too.

Anyway if I was in your position now I would start off by checking rules around collecting and releasing fish. If you had just had him for a day or so I would have just released him. If you can't release him but you can collect fish then I would recommend massively upgrading his tank -or even putting him in a pond with a good filter- and getting him 10 or more buddies.

I'm leaning on the edge of letting him go. I really don't want to upgrade my tank. I observed them schooling and they schooled in around 5-15. And I don't want to get too many because a want to get a few platys and I don't know if my tank can handle it. I can't for the life of me find a minimum tank size. As for the environment it was in a low flowing river. The smaller ones liked staying in little pools to the sides of the river. It was a gravel bottom similar to mine. The bigger ones would hangout in the middle of the river and school. There was a brown algae covering everything and in the low flowing pools a green moss/algae stuff would grow. The middle of the river was really open and barren. Wikipedia said that get to 10cm but I never saw any that big.

I'm not done decorating the tank and I am going to get some java moss and java fern to hide in. I might also put some bigger rocks in to make it look more natural. There was also many big rocks in the water where I found these guys. I agree that if I were to keep him I would need to get more. But if I'm not giving him a good home then I don't want to get more so I want to make sure that I can take good care of them before I get more. And I'm not sure if they could do everything they need to do in such a small tank. Right though he seem tiny compared to the tank. And maybe if he grows to big I can get a bigger tank in the future.

 

I don’t think so, but of course it can differ state by state. Even if other states require a permit, I don’t see why they would make it difficult to obtain, if the fish has a creel limit and are sold at bait and tackle stores. I can see why a nonfiserman would think obtaining one would seem restrictive. The less we know, the more we think something is complicated, when it really isn’t. In NJ, all that’s required is a fishing license. There is an additional permit for collecting shellfish and crabbing, but it only costs $2 (if I recall) and I can purchase it online. Fish under “baitfish species” include golden shiner, banded killifish, mummichog, spotfin killifish, rainwater killifish, American brook lamprey, fathead minnow, bluntnose minnow, tadpole madtom, margined madtom, all shiners, daces, minnows, chubs and the American eel. The limit is 35 per day per person. More than that requires a commercial permit.

I am a fisher(wo)man, but mainly fly, because it better suits our wild rivers As I said above: I know that using live fish as bait is illegal here, except on the Columbia. The east coast is a whole other kettle of fish The vast majority of our minnows were introduced (including the fathead minnow and bluntnose minnow) probably by being bait fish which escaped. Invasive species are a major reason our fishing is highly restricted...like a lot of other things in Washington. Crabbing requires a fishing licence ($56), but is easy to do, especially when you live in the Dungeness Estuary

Anyway, odds are that the OP lives in a place where minnows ARE used as bait, so they should look into the laws about collecting wildlife, but it's probably both legal and ethical there.

 

I don’t think so, but of course it can differ state by state. Even if other states require a permit, I don’t see why they would make it difficult to obtain, if the fish has a creel limit and are sold at bait and tackle stores. I can see why a obtaining one would seem restrictive. The less we know, the more we think something is complicated, when it really isn’t. In NJ, all that’s required is a fishing license. There is an additional permit for collecting shellfish and crabbing, but it only costs $2 (if I recall), which I can purchase online. Fish under “baitfish species” include golden shiner, banded killifish, mummichog, spotfin killifish, rainwater killifish, American brook lamprey, fathead minnow, bluntnose minnow, tadpole madtom, margined madtom, all shiners, daces, minnows, chubs and the American eel. The limit is 35 per day per person. More than that requires a commercial permit.

I live in Canada... Theres probably a lot different rules up here.

Nice fish, I think they are good. Just give a try!

I like your support but I don't think its that easy. I don't even know what it eats. Ive just been feeding to everything. Betta fish food, bloodworms,Algae wafers and just flake food. I probably over feeding him so much.

 

I am a fisher(wo)man, but mainly fly, because it better suits our wild rivers As I said above: I know that using live fish as bait is illegal here, except on the Columbia. The east coast is a whole other kettle of fish The vast majority of our minnows were introduced (including the fathead minnow and bluntnose minnow) probably by being bait fish which escaped. Invasive species are a major reason our fishing is highly restricted...like a lot of other things in Washington. Crabbing requires a fishing licence ($56), but is easy to do, especially when you live in the Dungeness Estuary

Anyway, odds are that the OP lives in a place where minnows ARE used as bait, so they should look into the laws about collecting wildlife, but it's probably both legal and ethical there.

I thought you might be when you mentioned baitfishing the Columbia, which is why I decided to edit my post. I know regs can be very different. I lived and fished in AK for a few years, both fresh and saltwater. Did a lot of flyfishing for arctic grayling and trout. . . with an ultra-light spinning reel and rod with a bobber, lol. Quite effective.

 

I am a fisher(wo)man, but mainly fly, because it better suits our wild rivers As I said above: I know that using live fish as bait is illegal here, except on the Columbia. The east coast is a whole other kettle of fish The vast majority of our minnows were introduced (including the fathead minnow and bluntnose minnow) probably by being bait fish which escaped. Invasive species are a major reason our fishing is highly restricted...like a lot of other things in Washington. Crabbing requires a fishing licence ($56), but is easy to do, especially when you live in the Dungeness Estuary

Anyway, odds are that the OP lives in a place where minnows ARE used as bait, so they should look into the laws about collecting wildlife, but it's probably both legal and ethical there.

Yeah I live in alberta canada and the only thing I can find a "Recreational Fish Culture Licence" Which I think is for ponds but I'm not sure

 

Most minnows are schooling fish so you'll probably want to get a few more of them.

I prefer to buy captive bred fish so we don't overfish the stock. If the stock is healthy and you take a couple, I have no problem with that, especially if you can give them a good home. If you can give a small minnow/danio/tetra a large aquarium with constant good water conditions and an environment for them to thrive (lots of cover and decorations, current/oxygenated water, clean tank, stable healthy food source), I believe they'll be way happier than a lot of fish are in the wild.

Think about it... Fish are not dumb. They have emotions and are smarter than a lot of people give them credit for. Small fish in the wild don't roam free like top predators in a protected marine sanctuary do. They are constantly being hunted. Constantly. They don't cover a mile per day, they hang out in the same general area in cover, generally in the shallows. And even then, birds! They're always in survival mode.

That changes in an aquarium. In a big tank, they are constantly exploring but have gone around the tank enough to know there's no one else in it that will eat them. You can see them go into "play mode" when they feel comfortable. I can assure you the bottom of the food chain fish don't do this in the wild.

I scuba dive a lot and see most of the top preditors (California sheephead, calico bass, leopard sharks, etc) swim and enjoy themselves. The baitfish act completely different. But put them in a large tank where they know they're safe, and they start acting like the big fish in the wild do.

 

Most minnows are schooling fish so you'll probably want to get a few more of them.

I prefer to buy captive bred fish so we don't overfish the stock. If the stock is healthy and you take a couple, I have no problem with that, especially if you can give them a good home. If you can give a small minnow/danio/tetra a large aquarium with constant good water conditions and an environment for them to thrive (lots of cover and decorations, current/oxygenated water, clean tank, stable healthy food source), I believe they'll be way happier than a lot of fish are in the wild.

Think about it... Fish are not dumb. They have emotions and are smarter than a lot of people give them credit for. Small fish in the wild don't roam free like top predators in a protected marine sanctuary do. They are constantly being hunted. Constantly. They don't cover a mile per day, they hang out in the same general area in cover, generally in the shallows. And even then, birds! They're always in survival mode.

That changes in an aquarium. In a big tank, they are constantly exploring but have gone around the tank enough to know there's no one else in it that will eat them. You can see them go into "play mode" when they feel comfortable. I can assure you the bottom of the food chain fish don't do this in the wild.

I scuba dive a lot and see most of the top preditors (California sheephead, calico bass, leopard sharks, etc) swim and enjoy themselves. The baitfish act completely different. But put them in a large tank where they know they're safe, and they start acting like the big fish in the wild do.

I think I know what you mean. When a first added the little guy he was skittish and would hide at the bottom of the tank. But now he looks a lot more relaxed and swims around constantly. I feel like you can get a good idea of how your tank should be from how your fish react. Even though he like to swim around a lot he likes to hide too. I was going to add hide spot before but this confirms the fact that I need to put some hiding spots in the tank. And another reason he was skittish might be that he has no friends like you said. But I want to make sure I can take good care of them before I get more.

 

You got good advice above, go sit and look at the creek and watch the fish you can learn a lot, as far as collecting I would try and use some of the water from the creek to start with and maybe only get 3-4 at a time, your going to loose some from stress that's just the way it goes, if you can, try and get a 20 long and use the 10 gl. as QT tank. Good luck and have fun with it

 

You got good advice above, go sit and look at the creek and watch the fish you can learn a lot, as far as collecting I would try and use some of the water from the creek to start with and maybe only get 3-4 at a time, your going to loose some from stress that's just the way it goes, if you can, try and get a 20 long and use the 10 gl. as QT tank. Good luck and have fun with it

The thing is... I'm poor and have no monies . I can't afford a second tank. OW maybe if I did get a 20 long I could use the 10 as a ghost shrimp tank! Also I agree that I should look at the creek more.

 

Here's the thing: The term "minnow" generally refers to small fish. That could be a baitfish like a smelt, dace, shiner, etc., OR a tiny sunfish, trout, salmon, etc.

Here in Maine you better know what you're taking, otherwise you could be facing STIFF penalties. You really can't just wonder down to the local stream, scoop out a "minnow" and bring it home willy-nilly. HUGE fines for taking game fish like sunfish, crappy, trout, salmon, etc.

I took this photo just yesterday as I was "debating" the regulation with another person on a fishing form. I'm a serious fisherman and I LOATH seeing people taking fish illegally.

 

Those baitfish had a nickname here in the Great Lakes: Dung eater. (Okay, the actual name is a little dirtier than that.) That's because they will eat anything that doesn't run away fast enough. Whatever food you have will do just fine for the fish.

In this instance the term "Minnow" refers to a fish that is pictured by the OP, which is a small cyprinid that is very common in most of North America. And while some people may use "minnow" to refer to any small fish, there actually is an official list of common names used by the US Fisheries Dept., and on that list Minnow is only used in reference to several related species of Cyprinids. One of these, Ptychocheilus lucius , the Colorado Pikeminnow, historically got to 6 feet in length. These days 3 footers are still seen. It is a highly endangered species, but it is officially a Minnow. Small Trout and Salmon are usually referred to as fingerlings. I've never heard anyone with actual knowledge of native fish use minnow for just any small fish.

 

I've never heard anyone with actual knowledge of native fish use minnow for just any small fish.

Well your right, when I posted this yesterday I didn't know much about blacknose dace. But now I feel like a have a better understanding and am a bit more knowledgable on them.

 

Good teammates for blacknose dace are fathead minnows and mosquitofish. If you plan to keep wild catching, avoid sunfish or bass if you have small fish or invertebrates like that. Sunfish are the aquatic version of Pigs. They say anything that can fit in their mouth.

 

Does anyone know how to turn off autocorrect?

 

Good teammates for blacknose dace are fathead minnows and mosquitofish. If you plan to keep wild catching, avoid sunfish or bass if you have small fish or invertebrates like that. Sunfish are the aquatic version of Pigs. They say anything that can fit in their mouth.

ok thanks, but I think I'm just going to keep to my platys. I'm getting them soon. btw thanks to the mod/admin that moved the thread.

 

Here in Alaska there are stickleback minnows every were I have thought of keeping them but pretty much every one is infected with a huge white flat worm in it so I never really wanted to keep them.