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Cyprinella leedsi photos?


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#1 Guest_Runan_*

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Posted 22 October 2008 - 06:27 PM

I've had fish for a while, but I'm pretty new to keeping natives. I'm totally hooked on them now, though, especially shiners and darters. At the moment I've got 5 rainbow shiners and a male rainbow darter in my 20 gallon along with a few corys and other fish.

A while ago I saw a picture of the Bannerfin shiner, Cyprinella leedsi, and I thought it was a gorgeous fish. However, I've only ever seen that one picture (plus the illustration in the Peterson's field guide). Here's the pic in question:

http://www.mblaquacu...hiner_510px.jpg

Are there any other pictures floating around? I'd love to see more.

Also, a question about rainbow shiners: Is the blue iridescence only a breeding color, or do they always have it? If they always have it, when does it start to appear? I got my rainbow shiners as juvies and the biggest was only an inch long. Now the biggest is a little over 2 inches and 2 others are about 2 inches exactly, and the smallest 2 are slightly over an inch, so at least some of them are still growing. They're very beautifully colored, especially the bigger three, with a reddish-purple top surface and a bright copper-orange horizontal stripe down their sides, a dark stripe below that and a silvery belly. The big ones have a red tinge to their fins as well. They also have a sort of copper/gold "glow" that hard to describe. Will the blue iridescence only show up if they're in breeding mode?

#2 Guest_ashtonmj_*

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Posted 22 October 2008 - 06:48 PM

Yes, the irridescence and better color in general you are hoping to see is a breeding color in those shiners (rainbow, tennessee, saffron, etc.). If you search the NANFA photo gallery there are some great pictures of rainbow shiners Todd Crail took while they were in breeding mode.

#3 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 22 October 2008 - 07:55 PM

You'll know when the males are in breeding condition, their colors become electric crazy intense (at least!). You'll see colors you didn't even know existed, it's that good.

#4 Guest_dsmith73_*

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Posted 23 October 2008 - 08:19 AM

That is an exceptional picture of a bannerfin. I have caught lots of them and never seen a male with that coloration. I have some pictures somewhere that I will di up. Otherwise, the Fishes of SC will be out next spring and it has some very nice pictures of these guys in typical coloration.

#5 Guest_rick_*

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Posted 23 October 2008 - 09:13 AM

Check out William Roston's work at http://withinourwaters.com/ for some excellent video of spawning Rainbow Shiners and others (also on Youtube).

Rick

#6 Guest_Runan_*

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Posted 24 October 2008 - 02:09 PM

Thanks for the replies, guys. I was pretty sure the blue iridescence was a breeding thing, just not 100% sure. I've also seen William Roston's stuff, and it's awesome.

#7 Guest_Mysteryman_*

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Posted 25 October 2008 - 11:22 AM

Wow!
I have never before seen a photo of a Bannerfin. After searching & searching I could only find a very few drawings. This is a much nicer fish than those scarce drawings led me to believe, too.



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