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Can you ID these please

Started by Guest_Curiositykat_* , Jul 09 2009 06:17 PM

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13 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_Curiositykat_*

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Posted 09 July 2009 - 06:17 PM

I was bored today, so decided to go visit one of the small rivers that runs near my house. I netted these fish, took some pics, and them released them all. All I know is that I did catch one species of darter, no idea what kind though. No idea what the other fish are. I keep lots of small tropical fish, I have no native tanks. Native fish do interest me and I am curious what ones we have locally.

BTW these fish were caught in WI.

Posted Image

#2 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 09 July 2009 - 06:52 PM

The darter in the first picture is maybe a female rainbow? And most of the fish in the third picture are brook silversides; the one at the top with the black line is probably a bluntnose minnow (or one of the other Pimephales species). The middle picture is a mystery to me. (Edit: maybe the second picture is of blacknose dace?)

#3 Guest_blakemarkwell_*

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Posted 09 July 2009 - 06:57 PM

From top to bottom:

First picture looks like a female Etheostoma caeruleum (Rainbow Darter).

Second, Notropis buccatus (Silverjaw Minnow).

The third pic, the majority are Notropis rubellus (Rosyface Shiner) with one Pimephales notatus (Bluntnose Minnow)

Blake

Edited by blakemarkwell, 09 July 2009 - 06:57 PM.

#4 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 09 July 2009 - 07:40 PM

Maybe those are young, skinny rosyfaces, the proportions look wrong. Are silverjaws found in Wisconsin? From the angle, it's plausible if the biogeography allows it.

#5 Guest_blakemarkwell_*

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Posted 09 July 2009 - 08:31 PM

I agree, the proportions are wierd and they are skinny, however, that looks just like a rosyface. I do not know if silverjaws are found in WI, but they look like em' to me.

Blake

#6 Guest_UncleWillie_*

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Posted 10 July 2009 - 06:26 AM

I have to agree that the 2nd picture looks like a couple of washed out blacknose dace. Other than that, I can't really say much about the other two...

#7 Guest_BTDarters_*

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Posted 10 July 2009 - 07:51 AM

Curiositykat,

Welcome to the forum! The first photo is a female Rainbow Darter (Etheostoma caeruleum). The fish in the second photo may be juvenile White Suckers (Catostomus commersoni), but with the distortion of the container, it's very hard to tell. I can tell you that they are most likely not Silverjaw Minnows as we don't have those here in Wisconsin. In the last picture, I believe that the uppermost fish is a Hornyhead Chub (Nocomis biguttatus). The red fins and stripe are a clue. The other fish in the picture are most likely some species of shiner or chub. I'm quite certain that they are not Brook Silversides.

Again, welcome to the forum!

Brian

#8 Guest_darter1_*

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Posted 10 July 2009 - 10:47 AM

The first picture looks alot like a E. nigrum (Johnny darter) to me with those dark brown W's on a creme body. I don't want to attempt the second picture. I agree with the one P. notatus (Bluntnose minnow) in the third picture, but the others cannot be N. rubellus (Rosyface shiner) with the antereior position of the dorsal fin insertion.

#9 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 10 July 2009 - 11:09 AM

The first picture looks alot like a E. nigrum (Johnny darter) to me with those dark brown W's on a creme body. I don't want to attempt the second picture. I agree with the one P. notatus (Bluntnose minnow) in the third picture, but the others cannot be N. rubellus (Rosyface shiner) with the antereior position of the dorsal fin insertion.

You coherently describe what I was thinking about the unknowns in the bottom picture, with the anterior position of the dorsal fin insertion which looks more like a brook silverside. With the darter, I think it's a rainbow because if you look at the caudal peduncle, the three spots and associated pigments form a posterior-pointing "trident", and the fish is more robust than a typical johnny.

Another day and we may all agree on the IDs? Or not...

#10 Guest_darter1_*

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Posted 10 July 2009 - 11:24 AM

You coherently describe what I was thinking about the unknowns in the bottom picture, with the anterior position of the dorsal fin insertion which looks more like a brook silverside. With the darter, I think it's a rainbow because if you look at the caudal peduncle, the three spots and associated pigments form a posterior-pointing "trident", and the fish is more robust than a typical johnny.

Another day and we may all agree on the IDs? Or not...

I have to say I do agree with you. Although I have seen a few johnnys with a slightly pointed snout, I must admit on a second look that it is the head and snout of a Rainbow, I have never needed to use the "trident" pigmentation for ID but it is unmistakeable. Thanks for the correction, I just wanted to see if anyone was on their toes.

"It isn't my first mistake, but hopefully it will be my last"

#11 Guest_JohnO_*

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Posted 10 July 2009 - 12:25 PM

The johnnies I've found tend to have a blunt nose and a more elongated body, similar to a greenside.

General body shape looks more like E caerelum or spectabile, but this Kentucky boy doesn't know much about the darters in WI.

Cute little fellow.

#12 Guest_smilingfrog_*

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Posted 11 July 2009 - 03:30 AM

Curiositykat,

Welcome to the forum! The first photo is a female Rainbow Darter (Etheostoma caeruleum). The fish in the second photo may be juvenile White Suckers (Catostomus commersoni), but with the distortion of the container, it's very hard to tell. I can tell you that they are most likely not Silverjaw Minnows as we don't have those here in Wisconsin. In the last picture, I believe that the uppermost fish is a Hornyhead Chub (Nocomis biguttatus). The red fins and stripe are a clue. The other fish in the picture are most likely some species of shiner or chub. I'm quite certain that they are not Brook Silversides.

Again, welcome to the forum!

Brian

I'll put my vote in for a female rainbow darter for the first picture as well. I really don't know with the 2nd picture, as Brian indicated it's hard to tell with the distortion. The one with the stripe in the 3rd picture reminds me a lot of a bluntnose minnow, but I am not familiar enough with the hornyhead chub to agree or disagree. I will agree that the others are not brook silversides. They would have 2 dorsal fins, a small one in front of a larger one. While the smaller one might not show up in the picture, the fin that does show is too far forward on the fish. A brook silverside would also have a much larger ventral fin.

#13 Guest_BTDarters_*

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Posted 12 July 2009 - 12:26 AM

Thanks for the kudos, smilingfrog! Another clue that the first fish is a Rainbow Darter is that the first dorsal has red and blue stripes in it.

Brian

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#14 Guest_GreatBasinBenji_*

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Posted 20 July 2009 - 03:22 PM

I believe that the fish in the 3rd photo are Pimephales promelas (Fathead Minnow) of the Cyprinidae family, or at least the largest on at the top of the photo is. The others are likely stunted juveniles the same species, but it's sort of hard to tell because of the pic. I could be wrong, but that's just my 2 cents.

Ben.