I purchased some shiners from a bait store recently. I was wondering if there was more than one kind of shiner or if they were all called golden shiners. I was also wondering how to successfully breed them in my 55 gal aquarium over the winter or if it was even possible? The main concern was how many should I put in and what water temp do they need? Also what type of structure do they like to lay eggs on or in? Thanks, John

Ok, this is the second time today. I promise to research further on PB before asking any more questions. After further research I do see that this topic has been covered although if anyone has anything new to add I would love to listen or read it.

I was actually curious about this myself

I was reading about shinners and it sayed that they reproduce at 78 to 80 degrease Ferinhite and they need aquatic vegitation tell me how it workes I was thinking about trying it myself.

There are lots of different types of Shiners besides GSH - Emerald Shiners come to mind first.

I think GSH would be real easy to keep in an aquarium, but hard to get to spawn. They need shallow water with aquatic or overhanging terrestrial plants to attach their eggs to. That's on top of whatever temp cycle & diurnal cycle requirements they may have.

I would use the standard 1" of fish per gallon of aquarium rule to determine stocking numbers.

Spawning most species of Cyprinidae is not easy in an aquarium. Your best bet if you have space in your garage or patio is to buy a large tub and try to breed them in there. Then you can allow them to go through the natural seasonal changes that trigger them to spawn.

This can be done in an aquarium but is a real trick for a beginner. I've spawned a number of fish in aquariums but most are not easy to accomplish. In outdoor tubs I have gotten numerous species to spawn very easily. Just feed them, keep the water clean and they will do the rest...

I tried to raise 18 4" golden shiners TWICE in my big aquarium stocked with 7 3-6" CNBG and 24 2-3" FH in it. Both times, all seemed to be going well for about a month after adding. Then BAM! ALL 18 died within 3 days of each other. No other fish showed any sign of stress with no changes in good water conditions. Never did figure out what went wrong.

One thing I just thought of wrt GSH in aquariums - I think a completely enclosed top cover would be a very good idea. I gave up on using GSH for mosquito control in watering troughs because soooner or later they always jump out. That might not be a problem if you don't have horses and cattle sticking their heads in the aquarium and scaring the Shiners, however.

Yes, GSH are big time jumpers! But I would be too if it meant going in a bass's belly or living to see another day...

I have built small outside ponds out of cinder blocks as the form, sand as the buffer to protect the liner and then using a PVC pond liner. You can vary the size and depth by the number of cinder blocks you use.

Any of the landscaping concrete stones will work as well, they actually look a lot better than cinder blocks. I also have used landscaping lumber to build the form of the pond. These options are nice because you can always break down the pond if you want to move it.

Golden shiners and fatheads breed like crazy in them. Gams do well in them also. I have also bred banded killies, bluntnose minnows and several sunfish species in them.

I am thinking about trying to breed lake chubsuckers that way. Spawn them a few seasons and build up their numbers. About the only way to get enough to properly stock a pond since no hatcheries sell them.

I really like your use of sound effects here Rainman.

Originlly posted by Rainman:

Then BAM! ALL 18 died within 3 days of each other.

Obviously Rainman watches Emeril on The Food Channel too much.

Bing

Watch him????........I TAUGHT him!!!

Jeff, I hope you didn't hit your nose on the screen when you heard it!

Fortunately my head was propelled backwards against my high back office chair, so no harm, no foul.

I'd forgotten how that was originally worded.

I have been looking at a 7 ft across ( Circular) by 24" metal tank for raising FHM, I am curious about what other types of species could i put in to help clean up dead FH's like Bullheads perhaps, just a few little guys to keep the bottom clean, with that said, Im sure the algea would build up on the sides and such, now what should they be fed?
Any thoughts here, Im not trying to hijack the thread but trying to keep along the same lines.

Salmonid

Tilapia would help clean the waste and algae but would also devour any eggs. I use plecostomus (pleco's) in my tanks to control algae and aquarium filters for ammonia/waste control.

Absent using filtration, at least put around 3" of small chat or pea gravel in the bottom with circulation to help establish beneficial bacteria for ammonia/waste control.

Hijack all you want. I think everyone here has a few we've stolen.

If you are keeping the tank outside, the shallow (24") would lead to winter death do to ice over unless you kept it heated somehow. It would also preclude the use of tropicals. If you have access to tadpole madtoms in your area, catch a few of those. They would definately clean up the dead fish but wouldn't heavily prey upon the FHM at the same time. You could also look into putting some lake chubsuckers in the tank as they feed on algae if you can find a wild source to catch them from. Plus, they would make a great addition to any pond's forage base if you could get them to spawn in your tank. Good luck!