12 replies to this topic

[mattknepley]

I've seen lots of tesselateds, but never one this amped up (by tessie standards)!

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 DSCN0033.JPG   78.07KB   0 downloads

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From a small, urban stream in Greenwood County, SC. Water temp 70F.

[Sean Phillips]

Wow! That is a nice looking tesselated!

[Matt DeLaVega]

They don't go all black like Johnnys?

[gerald]

Nope, tessies get speckled.  In the upper Neuse/Tar and parts of Roanoke where their ranges overlap, male breeding color is the only "easy" way to distinguish them from Johnny, for me anyway.  They may actually be intergrades in those basins. 

[FirstChAoS]

So the square spots are breeding colors? good to know. I seen tesses as everything from nearly invisible to heavilly mottled and was not sure what each color meant. Yes, these two photos are the same species.

 

 

[gerald]

In tesselated darters, its mainly the darkening pattern (tesselation) in the fins that changes in breeding condition.  The head and body markings may darken a little too, but not like Johnnys.  It's the dorsal and caudal fin pigment that is most noticeable. 

[Matt DeLaVega]

Josh, most of your coloration difference if likely from substrate color difference, rather than spawning color.

[Betta132]

Definitely looks like substrate-related color variation. I haven't seen tesselated darters, but I've seen Johnny darters go from nearly white to nearly black when shifted between substrates, and then go right back. Most bottom-sitting fish seem to be able to alter their coloration quite well. 

I kinda wonder, though, how do the fish know if they're the right color? Can they see themselves?

[Michael Wolfe]

Take your finger and touch your spine right at the base of your skull... I bet you did that in one try without being able to see your neck.

[Betta132]

I can feel that, though. I don't think a fish can check his color to be sure he blends in. Did all the ones who couldn't blend right just get eaten? 

Maybe the color changing is a subconscious thing and the brain just knows how to trigger all the chromatophores to match whatever the eyes are seeing.

[Michael Wolfe]

What I was saying is more that you don't have to see your finger to know where it was going. The fish can see the substrate. He doesn't need to see himself. He matches the substrate he sees.

That would be a great experiment. Little virtual reality goggles for a darter. And see if he changes color based on what he sees.

[Matt DeLaVega]

What I was saying is more that you don't have to see your finger to know where it was going. The fish can see the substrate. He doesn't need to see himself. He matches the substrate he sees.

That would be a great experiment. Little virtual reality goggles for a darter. And see if he changes color based on what he sees.

We need a like button. I wonder if our software offers that? It would save a lot of useless posts like mine here.

[gerald]

Yup I think that's it.  Awhile ago Michael posted pix of fish that had turned orange in a Home Depot bucket.

 

Maybe the color changing is a subconscious thing and the brain just knows how to trigger all the chromatophores to match whatever the eyes are seeing.