11 replies to this topic

[Isaacsfishingcorner]

I hadn't planned to do any micro-fishing so I left my photography tank at home, so I apologize in advance for the quality of these images. I was fishing the Ohio River near Newburgh, Indiana directly off a boat ramp in a small eddy.

Minnow 1: Current guess is Spotfin Shiner

 20170708_195341(1).jpg   71.67KB   2 downloads

Minnow 2: Possibly also a Spotfin Shiner, but the dark spot by the tail confuses me

 20170708_194728 (2).jpg   47.8KB   1 downloads

Minnow 3: I really want it to be a Brook Silverside, but I think I'm seeing things

 20170708_194429 (2).jpg   65.65KB   1 downloads

Thoughts?

[Josh Blaylock]

#1.  Looks like a Steelcolor, but could also be a Spotfin.  The two are rather hard to tell apart most of the time.

#2.  Spotfin Shiner

#3.  For sure not a Brook Silverside.  I'd go with Emerald Shiner.

[Matt DeLaVega]

1 and 2 are most likely spotfin. Could be steelcolor. 3 isn't a sliversides. Looks like a young silver shiner to me.

 

Edit Didn't see Josh's post. Basically saying the same thing. May very well be an emerald. Silver and emerald are tough for me to tell apart when small.

[Josh Blaylock]

1 and 2 are most likely spotfin. Could be steelcolor. 3 isn't a sliversides. Looks like a young silver shiner to me.

 

Edit Didn't see Josh's post. Basically saying the same thing. May very well be an emerald. Silver and emerald are tough for me to tell apart when small.

 

I thought about Silver Shiner too.  Either/Or I'd say.

[keepnatives]

with the whiteness of the dorsal and anal fins i'd lean towards Steelcolor rather then spotfin shiner

[Isaacsfishingcorner]

Thank you for help everyone! I went back the next day with my tank and identification guide and caught Spotfin Shiners, Bullhead Minnows, Bluntnose Minnow and River Shiners. No Steelcolor made an appearance sadly 

[Matt DeLaVega]

Spotfins are much more common than steelcolors in most places. Unless they are full spawn males, they are tough to differentiate. The anal ray count is not always accurate either.

[Isaacsfishingcorner]

I thought Steelcolors could be differentiated due to them having black blotches on all of the membranes on the dorsal fin, while Spotfins only have the black blotch on the posterior half of the fin (according to the Fishes of Indiana Field Guide). Is that not an accurate way to differentiate them (given the other characteristics match like they should)?

[Matt DeLaVega]

Other than big males, I can only differentiate them in hand. Spotfins have a distinct line midway between the lateral line and dorsal. Steelcolors don't. Kind of need to rotate them in the sun to see it. Pretty sure I see it on your first photo though, which is why I went with spotfin as my first guess. I am not sure about the dorsal fin key. It may work better in mature fish.

[gobucksjb]

Steelcolor shiners have a larger, more rounded dorsal.  They also don't have a iridescent stripe along their flank.  If you look closely at the specimen in photo number one, you can clearly see the top (~1/4) portion of the fish contains a blue iridescence to it followed by a distinct color change on the lower ~3/4 of the body.  This is most certainly a Spotfin Shiner.  

 

The fish in photo #3 appears to me as a Emerald Shiner 

[Matt DeLaVega]

Of course both Jared and I learned that trick from Brian Z.

[Isaacsfishingcorner]

Thank you all for the help and the new information, my book definitely didn't mention that. I will keep that in mind next time I catch one