I am thinking I paid $2 or $3 a piece for my LCS when I bought them from Overton's back in 2009. I watched mine spawning today in the shallows over old willow tree root masses covered in algae. Water temp was 66 degrees.
One species I would love to get my hands on is the brook silverside. However, they are very sensitive to handling so they probably would be a nightmore to keep alive during shipping.
Eastern silvery minnows are another species I think warrants consideration. Eastern Silvery Minnow (Hybognathus regius) are easily cultured in shallow earthen ponds. Raney (1942) describes raising several thousands minnows in a 0.15-acre pond ranging from four inches to four feet in depth. The pond was fertilized three times during the summer with cottonseed meal, and fresh-cut timothy was scattered along the pond's shallow borders several times. The bottom was silt and lacked vegetation except for filamentous algae later in the summer. The fish were not fed. Spawning occurred in late April and early May. A stocked total of 68 males and 14 females produced 6,650 young 4-7 cm (1.5-2.75 in) in length by the end of September.
I am still personally experimenting with this species, but think it could be an excellent pond forage fish. It spawns much earlier than other species, making it an excellent early forage for YOY predatory species.
