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Cape Fear Shiner?

Started by Guest_ZeeZ_* , Aug 12 2013 06:49 PM

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#1 Guest_ZeeZ_*

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Posted 12 August 2013 - 06:49 PM

I'm located in Greensboro, NC. While I was hiking with my dog, I noticed a shallow creek going under a bridge and went to check it out. I saw fish in it and made a mental note to come back to this area at a later date to catch a few and take pictures.

I went back today but just as my luck would have it, dark clouds rolled over where I was and took away the best light available for photos so my photos didn't come out very well. I intend on going back later when it's sunny again and trying again. I caught these with a simple aquarium net (brand-new) and a 5 gallon bucket.

Are these Cape Fear Shiners? Their Wiki description matches what they look like and so do the pictures on the web. They're golden above the black stripe and white/silver under the stripe. They remind me of Siamensis Algae Eaters somewhat.

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#2 Guest_Joshaeus_*

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Posted 12 August 2013 - 07:43 PM

Careful - it seems like A LOT of native fish are golden above the back and have white stomachs!

#3 Guest_michifish_*

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Posted 12 August 2013 - 08:22 PM

Cape Fear Shiners are listed as endangered. http://www.fws.gov/n...h/cfshiner.html

#4 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 12 August 2013 - 09:48 PM

Yes, you may be lucky that the photo is too poor to make any real ID. If you're in possession of, i.e. harassing, Cape Fears without a federal permit you're in a heap of trouble. Please be very careful.

#5 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 12 August 2013 - 09:50 PM

Two locked today for photos not taken on sight. About to start time out's for this.

#6 Guest_ZeeZ_*

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Posted 13 August 2013 - 12:49 AM

They were released back into the stream, I forgot to add that part. I only wanted to make an ID because I was curious what they were. They were in the little kritter keeper for around 10 minutes just for photos then they went back in. I promise I didn't have any intentions of breaking the law. If they are indeed Cape Fear Shiners, then I'll leave them alone in their stream. I intend on getting a waterproof GoPro camera next month. Maybe that would be a better way, taking pictures of them in their natural habitat without actually taking them out?

The net and bucket I used were brand-new, just purchased and not used with any of my tanks. The kritter keeper hasn't had anything in it except crickets at one point.

For on-site photos, I didn't upload them because they didn't really show the fish as well as the first pic but here they are -

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#7 Guest_gerald_*

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Posted 13 August 2013 - 08:49 AM

No - those are either creek chubs or bluehead chubs, or both - note the wide head. Cape Fear Shiners are long gone from the upper parts of the watershed upstream of Chatham and Randolph Counties. In the Haw River, there's not much chance of them upstream of Saxapahaw Dam, and in the Deep River there's none above Ramseur. The other minnows you might find in Guilford Co that look most similar to Cape Fear's are swallowtail, spottail, whitemouth, and maybe coastal shiner.

Here's a Cape Fear shiner from Deep River, during a 2007 survey:

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#8 Guest_clemsons2k_*

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Posted 13 August 2013 - 09:02 AM

Looks like a creek chub to me. They seem to find their way into weird water sources like that.

#9 Guest_ZeeZ_*

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Posted 13 August 2013 - 09:42 AM

Thanks for clearing things up, gerald! I'm glad I didn't get into trouble with the feds!

I thought about catching a few and starting a native tank with a 10 gallon but from NANFA's captive care with creek chubs, they apparently reach 5 inches. Too large for a 10g. Which is very surprising considering just how shallow this creek is. The basin in the picture couldn't hold more than maybe 15 to 20 gallons.

I'm surprised a lot of these little native fish look alike with that coloring. The thing that made me think they were Cape Fears is that the stripe extended past the eyes to the nose.

Edited by ZeeZ, 13 August 2013 - 09:43 AM.

#10 Guest_gerald_*

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Posted 13 August 2013 - 12:34 PM

So do hundreds of other American, Asian, and African minnows, especially when young. The best minnows around GBO for a 10 to 20 gal tank (small, nice looking, not too aggressive) would be swallowtail, highfin, and redlip shiners, and redbelly dace. A 30 gal or bigger could also house rosefin, crescent, satinfin shiners, rosyside dace, etc.

I'm surprised a lot of these little native fish look alike with that coloring. The thing that made me think they were Cape Fears is that the stripe extended past the eyes to the nose.