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Hi,
I just picked up a 155 gal. bow front tank and I'm thinking of stocking it with native fish. I have a river that feeds into a reservoir near my house, and I was thinking of using the stone, plants, fish, etc., in the river for my tank. The only thing I am really concerned about is the stone, is there some that I should stay away from? Or just stay away from them all? The water is clean/clear and I have drank out of it before, and it taste fine.
Thanks,
Blazzaro

First, I want to say that you should never, never, never drink water from rivers and streams. Even if it tastes fine, it could easily have microorganisms that could be harmful to you, or cemicals like iodine, mercury, heavy metals, or industrial chemicals that you wouldn't necessarily be able to taste, but could also be very, very harmful.
When using rocks from a river or stream, the biggest concerns are potential aforementioned microorganisms, and chemicals or heavy metals that could be present or could have leeched into the rocks.
The first thing you should do is take a sample of your water to your local town water board office and ask them to test it for you. (You usually have to do this before you build a house or something, so your local town hall should know where to go for this kind of thing). Also look on maps or ask your town hall where the river starts, if there are any old mines, large farms, or other industrial companies that use the water source, or could be leeching waste products into it. You should also know what larger body of water the river or stream runs into.

If you're not interested in that much work, the major elements you want to test for are iron and copper, a Ph test, should be a good place to start. A test for nitrates and phosphates will give you a hint as to whether there might be a farm upstream that is leeching fertilizers into the waterway. Of course, these tests will not tell you a lot of things... Be aware that even though these potentially harmful chemicals or organisms may be present in the natural river, when you put them into an enclosed tank, you will be allowing them to concentrate in a small space, and they could easily pollute and crash your tank, making it unlivable for any inhabitants that are used to the natural exchange of gasses, ground water, rainfall, current, plants, etc.

Boiling rocks found outside will kill most micro-organisms. Scrubbing the surface honestly doesn't do all that much unless you're using a belt grinder, but it's a good idea to scrub away any loose debris that you don't want to possibly cloud your tank.

If you plan to use local fauna as well, be aware of their natural environment. If they come from a river, be prepared to give them river conditions in the tank, too. Here's a link to a really great article on hillstream loaches, that happens to include some pretty easy instructions for using powerheads and sponge filters to create a good river system in a long tank: http://www.loaches.com/articles/hillstream-loaches-the-specialists-at-life-in-the-fast-lane

I hope all that helps and isn't too confusing or discouraging. A tank that large is a wonderful thing to plan for, and has a lot of possibilities.

have fun!

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

What she said.

Oh, and while you're checking the water, ring up the local Encon office and see what fish you can keep, some natives are illegal to house.

Yes.

As far as the rocks go, after you boil and scrub them, you should soak them in fresh water (not from the river) to ensure all the microorganisms are gone. Also, double check on what species you are putting in your tank, not just for legality purposes. For example, I live by the ohio river, and we have many small fish that grow up to be HUGE fish. What you may think is a small fry, could turn out to be something like a bass or sunfish

As far as legality goes, definitly consult and see. I know everyonce in awhile a forighn fish gets into our river (when I was growing up a fisherman caught a red-bellied pirahna, which are illegal to keep in Indiana) Just be careful.

Also, when you filter the water, I would do it slowly. The fish are used to whatever water is in the river, even if it is not something you want for your tank (i.e. cloudy) I would start with a small filter, and use it for the first few weeks you have your fish (start to get the icky stuff out) and do some extra water changes, adding treated fresh water (not from the river) making sure that the elements like pH are simular. After a few weeks, I would up the power on the filter, slowly accumulating them to good water. This will be a good benifit eventually because you won't have to go to the river everytime you clean your tank, and the water will be better for the fish.

I like your idea though, and I'm sure that once you get it setup and put the work into it, it will look great ^_^

Inky

I'd exercise particular caution with respect to native Catfishes. The principal Family in North America is the Ictaluridae, which contains some monsters. You could find yourself netting a cute looking baby catfish from your river only to find it's a species that grows big enough to feed the Waltons at the dinner table!

Here is your complete list]http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/catfish/ictaluridae/about.htm[/link] of North American Catfish species. Each scientific name in the list is a link that can be clicked upon for more information on that species. For example, [link=here is a species that you want to avoid because it's a behemoth reaching 5 feet in length and tipping the scales at around 60 pounds!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I noticed in your profile that you are from Massachusetts and as such would assume that if you are collecting native species from a river system that they are probably going to be cold or cool water species.

This could create some other challenges for you in that it may require the purchasing of and installation of a chiller on your tank to keep the water temperature where needed to properly and effectively maintain these fish.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain