North American Native Fishtanks

As with all things in life, it's complicated :) native fish keeping is possibly legal, but it depends on things like which state you live in, what species you are aiming for, how you catch them, and what time of year you are fishing. Some states like Arizona, California, and Maine simply don't allow it (at least, when I last looked through all state fishing regulations a few years ago).

For Virginia (where I live as well! Just on the Potomac watershed) catching and keeping nongame fish is pretty straightforward. Keeping the game fish species is a little more complicated and you'll also need to worry about where you catch them and what size they are (generally). My advice should never be fully relied on for legality purposes - please read your regs cover to cover!

It depends a little on whether you live in New York, Pennsylvania, or Maryland - but not by a lot. First, let's look at desirable species for home keeping.

There are a lot of native (and invasive) minnow species in this area. Fathead Minnows are the standard for interest and hardiness, but the other small shiners and daces (Mimic Shiners, Longnose Daces, Blacknose Daces, and Spottail Shiners, among others) are great options too. Avoid Gold Shiners, Fallfish, River Chubs, and Carps as they get too big to be of practical use.

Due to their size and tendency to eat tankmates, I'd avoid the bigger species of catfish. Margined Madtoms are in this river and are of least concern and would make nice bottom feeders. However, check legality of taking this species within your state.

I believe the only killifish in this watershed is the Banded Killifish - but I can't recommend them highly enough. Some of my favorite native fishes, their neon blue breeding colors are lovely!

Our etheostoma darters are beautiful, fun, and very interesting fish for home keeping. Don't overlook the more somber Tesselated Darter (at least compared to the Banded and Greenside species) - they are a joy to watch and keep.

We have a few Lepomis sunfish here... but I don't think any are great additions to a community tank. Bluegills, Greens, Redbreasts, and Pumpkinseeds are all sizeable and aggressive. In a big tank combined with Longnose Gar and Yellow Perch... maybe. But again, this is bigger than most people want. Rock bass and the Micropterus basses aren't any better in this regard, though I guess if it matters any, Rock Basses are probably your best bet of the lot.