Central Mudminnow

These fish really are pretty when they are in spawning condition...
 Mudminnow.jpg   29.93KB   4 downloads

What sort of conditions do they need to spawn? I was thinking of trying it with the ones I recently got.

This is an underrated fish in my opinion. Indeed the males turn a subtle hue of every color in the rainbow on their flanks and an iridescent baby blue in the anal fin.

The good old normal coloration ain't too shabby either (if your fond of browns). Personally I like the body mottling and their interesting behavior in the home aquaria makes up for any laking color one might expect form the usual aquarium fish.

It's nice to see others see their beauty the same way I do.

It's nice to see others see their beauty the same way I do.

I see the beauty in tham as well, great looking fish. I would love to get my hands on some. I'm trying to collect my own so the only reason I don't have one is because I haven't found any.

This is an underrated fish in my opinion.

Umbra have to be one of my personal favorites fishwise (Next to Gars of coarse )
They are very underrated by some and I could never figure out why..

I've had these a few times, there are pretty cool. Very common around here. Almost like a wolf fish alternative. Great pics btw .

I see the beauty in tham as well, great looking fish. I would love to get my hands on some. I'm trying to collect my own so the only reason I don't have one is because I haven't found any.

Trying sticking a dipnet in some water so shallow, weedchoked and stagnant that you think no fish could possibly live there...and you just might find yourself at a mudminnow hotspot.

Travis Haas

Mudminnows, or pygmy pike which is more glamorous, are awesome!

That picture does no justice to how I KNOW that fish looks if you were there in person. I have tried numerous times to get a picture that shows the real color of the male central mudminnow, and the blues just don't come out right. The obvious blue on the anal fin burns your eyes, and the pelvic fins can get nearly as blue, with often blue inbetween the rays of the caudal, which you can pick out in that picture. I have had some individuals that were really really colorful, with the inbetween the rays blue on the caudal standing out quite well, and some showing up in the dorsal fin.

Mudminnows can be found in a huge variety of habitats, but small ditches, streams, and ponds are best. Look for areas with tons of leaves on the bottom from last fall. Now that spawning season is on, look for areas where a small amount of current goes into a still area. Flooded ditches are awesome spots to find good numbers of them.

Another intersting thing, male muds in spawning condition get raised scales on the caudal penduncle. Its hard to see, but easy to feel when you pick them out of the leaf litter and gunk and place them in the pail. Maybe raised is not the right way to say it, more like pearl scales, if that makes more descriptive sense.

They can become quite tame in aquariums, and will go to eating prepared foods. Often its easy to get them onto it by keeping some dace ( northern redbellies and finescales are often caught along with them) in the tank. Dace eat flake food, usually hours after being put in the tank. It seems the mudminnows get upset seeing the other fish eating, and can't help but try out what the new odd food source is. Before long they usually all start eating it with gusto. Small high quality pellet food works great too.

That picture does no justice to how I KNOW that fish looks if you were there in person. I have tried numerous times to get a picture that shows the real color of the male central mudminnow, and the blues just don't come out right.

How true..I took over 50 photos just trying to get something that I liked and was close enough. This was the best that my digital camera could capture..The colors on this fish at the time the pic was taken was much much brighter.

As a side note I now have a bunch of little Pygmy pike fry that are growing up well.

i have a few eastern mudminnows in a 20 long with darters, and some mudminnow would rather chase a darter to steal its worm than pick up their own worm, no matter how many worms are lying about. reminds me of marbled salamander larvae -- they can be lying in a pool worms, but would rather bite the snout or leg of a sibling who's trying to eat. Like Ray says they just cant stand to see somebody else eating.

[ Dace eat flake food, usually hours after being put in the tank. It seems the mudminnows get upset seeing the other fish eating, and can't help but try out what the new odd food source is. Before long they usually all start eating it with gusto.
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