Anyone kept blacktail shiners?

I have had swallowtail shiners (bait and tackle shop minnows) for years. They ate basically anything I added to the tank. Flakes, frozen, freeze dried, live, veggies and meaty items. When I first got them I searched the net for info and read that they grow up their first year, spawn the second and few see the third. My last survivor out of 16 is now 14 years old. Two more just died last year. So they can live a long life. Also they are very peaceful and non aggressive. Mine did spawn in the aquarium, the parents would not eat them but all the other fish in their tank ate all the fry as I made no effort to save them.

garfieldnfish said:

I have had swallowtail shiners (bait and tackle shop minnows) for years. They ate basically anything I add to the tank. Flakes, frozen, freeze dried, live, veggies and meaty items. When I first got them I searched the net for info and read that they grow up their first year, spawn the second and few see the third. My last survivor out of 16 is now 14 years old. Two more just died last year. So they can live a long life. Also they are very peaceful and non aggressive. Mine did spawn in the aquarium, the parents would not eat them but all the other fish in their tank ate all the fry as I made no effort to save them.

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Admire, :thumbsup:

Hmm... Alright. I suppose I can assume that blacktails might act similarly.
I think I'd get mine from the river as opposed to a bait shop. For one, if I went to a bait shop I'd end up buying all the fish to save them. For another, I bet the river ones are probably healthier.
Any clue what a minimum tank size would be?

They average about 4 inches long and are a shoaling species, so I wouldn't put them in anything short of a 4 foot tank. Are there any smaller shiners near where you live?

Honestly, I don't know. I'm near Austin, and the river is the San Gabriel. I'm fairly sure we have golden shiners, but they're larger.
I came across Texas shiners in my research, but I haven't found a good range map so I'm not sure if we have them.