Can someone post a complete list. every website i go to has different species...thanks

Can you share your sources?

Well I'm not on a computer. But I googled proteçþed fish of Virginia. Wiki lists like 7 fish. Including roanoke LP duskytail darter and some chubs. Yellowfin madtom. Then the fws lists the same fish. Can u share ur sources

Well I'm not on a computer. But I googled proteçþed fish of Virginia. Wiki lists like 7 fish. Including roanoke LP duskytail darter and some chubs. Yellowfin madtom. Then the fws lists the same fish. Can u share ur sources

The virginia fishing rules mention that you cannot take candy darters, which is a pitty as after i read that I looked up candy darters and they are a very very pretty fish.

Yeah I knew candy darters were. That's my fav looking. But I keep hearing tangerines are as well. Firstchaos. Read ur PMs and write back to me

I have a couple of sources below:

http://forum.nanfa.o...tricted-fishes/

http://www.dgif.virg...tescspecies.pdf

Blackbanded sunfish Enneacanthus chaetodon SE
Blackside dace Phoxinus cumberlandensis FT ST
Carolina darter Etheostoma collis ST
Duskytail darter Etheostoma percnurum FE SE
Emerald shiner Notropis atherinoides ST
Golden darter Etheostoma denoncourti SOC ST
Greenfin darter Etheostoma chlorobranchium ST
Longhead darter Percina macrocephala ST
Orangefin madtom Noturus gilberti SOC ST
Paddlefish Polyodon spathula ST
Roanoke logperch Percina rex FE SE
Sharphead darter Etheostoma acuticeps SE
Shortnose sturgeon Acipenser brevirostrum FE SE
Slender chub Erimystax cahni FT ST
Spotfin chub Erimonax monachus FT ST
Steelcolor shiner Cyprinella whipplei ST
Tennessee dace Phoxinus tennesseensis SE
Variegate darter Etheostoma variatum SE
Western sand darter Ammocrypta clara ST
Whitemouth shiner Notropis alborus ST
Yellowfin madtom Noturus flavipinnis FT ST

The above species list comes from the PDF link which is a 2009 document. I'm trying to offer the most current data available but always make sure and double check such important information by communicating with the necessary departments.

Does this list fed listed as well? Why isn't candy darters on there? What about tangerine darters? Thanks uland

Does this list fed listed as well? Why isn't candy darters on there? What about tangerine darters? Thanks uland

I'm guilty of being a midwesterner and not fully up to date on Virgina listings. I can say the two fish you listed are S1 (critically imperiled) or S2 (imperiled) so regardless of their status within legislation, you have to keep their general condition in mind.
If you open the PDF link, you will see a table that clearly indicates the fishes status (FE,SE,TE & SOC).

Further down the list, it lists the species of concern. Oddly enough, still no mention of the tangerine darter...

FRESHWATER FISHES
Appalachia darter Percina gymnocephala SOC
Ashy darter Etheostoma cinereum SOC
Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrhynchus SOC SSC
Bigeye jumprock Moxostoma ariommus SOC
Blotchside logperch Percina burtoni SOC SSC
Bluebreast darter Etheostoma camurum SSC
Bluestone sculpin Cottus sp. 1 SOC
Bridle shiner Notropis bifrenatus SSC
Brook silverside Labidesthes sicculus SSC
Candy darter Etheostoma osburni SOC SSC
Channel darter Percina copelandi SSC
Clinch sculpin Cottus sp. 4 SOC
Fatlips minnow Phenacobius crassilabrum SOC SSC
Holston sculpin Cottus sp. 5 SOC
Kanawha darter Etheostoma kanawhae SOC
Kanawha minnow Phenacobius teretulus SOC
Mirror shiner Notropis spectrunculus SSC
Mountain brook lamprey Ichthyomyzon greeleyi SOC
Popeye shiner Notropis ariommus SOC SSC
River redhorse Moxostoma carinatum SSC
Riverweed darter Etheostoma podostemone SOC
Roanoke bass Ambloplites cavifrons SOC SSC
Roanoke hog sucker Hypentelium roanokense SOC
Roughhead shiner Notropis semperasper SOC SSC
Rustyside sucker Thoburnia hamiltoni SOC SSC
Sauger Sander canadensis SSC
Speckled killifish Fundulus rathbuni SSC
Spotted-margin madtom Noturus insignis ssp. 1 SOC
Stonecat Noturus flavus SSC
Thicklip chub Cyprinella labrosa SOC
Wounded darter Etheostoma vulneratum SOC

does that mean you cant take a special concern fish? i just wanna do whats legally right. keepnatives thought he read somewhere that the tangerine was federally protected.

does that mean you cant take a special concern fish? i just wanna do whats legally right. keepnatives thought he read somewhere that the tangerine was federally protected.

It is my underatanding that there is no legal protection for a species of special concern, be it at the federal or state level, so it will be up to you to determine if you want one of these species. I can tell you from experience that many times these species are relatively common in the right habitat while others, such as the candy darter, are nearly non-existent and require much stronger regulation.

As for the tangerine darter, the chance of you catching one is slim. They are rare in nearly all instances and very difficult to catch as they live in the deepest and most challenging habitat. If you happened upon one, I would suggest against keeping it. They get very large(for a darter), have very high oxygen demands and would be a poor all around aquarium subject.

Thanks for that info dustin.

I think you'd only find tangerine darters in Virginia in the South Fork of the Holston River and a few smaller streams like Copper Creek, all way out in SW Virginia. The fish itself is only lightly protected but these are largely protected habitats where you can only collect fish with a special permit. And I'll echo Dustin, if you ever see habitat with tangerines you would understand why they would be challenging aquarium fish, as beautiful as they are.

I think you'd only find tangerine darters in Virginia in the South Fork of the Holston River and a few smaller streams like Copper Creek, all way out in SW Virginia. The fish itself is only lightly protected but these are largely protected habitats where you can only collect fish with a special permit. And I'll echo Dustin, if you ever see habitat with tangerines you would understand why they would be challenging aquarium fish, as beautiful as they are.

I'm not interested in collecting Tangerines however what special permits are you referring to in extreme sw VA that would be required to collect more common shiners and darters? Or are you referring to the fact that many areas have sections if not whole creeks that are designated trout stocking streams at least part of the year and your basic trout streams where nets are not welcome.

Regarding tangerines though, I don't see where they'd be an issue keeping in an aquarium other then treating them as any large darter that like some current. I've seen them snorkling in 2 foot deep riffles as well as deeper pools, adults and young. I've also seen them in sw Virginia in some smaller tribs of the clinch that are often relatively shallow with occassional pools, granted mostly juveniles. Personally never tried them as I think there's enough more common darters in the area to concentrate on but if they were more widely distributed I don't think they'd be hard to keep. I am surprised they don't seem to be specifically protected federally.

Those protection categories vary alot among states. In NC "Special Concern" animals ARE legally protected and you CANNOT collect or possess them. That said, several of Virginia's protected fish are common in NC and not protected here. The Kanawha darter in NC is very similar to VA's Candy, and can be legally collected. But check the NC-WRC trout stream maps/lists to make sure you're not seining in a designated trout stream. You WILL need to keep Kanawhas cool, below 74 F.

It is my understanding that there is no legal protection for a species of special concern, be it at the federal or state level, so it will be up to you to determine if you want one of these species. I can tell you from experience that many times these species are relatively common in the right habitat while others, such as the candy darter, are nearly non-existent and require much stronger regulation.

As for the tangerine darter, the chance of you catching one is slim. They are rare in nearly all instances and very difficult to catch as they live in the deepest and most challenging habitat. If you happened upon one, I would suggest against keeping it. They get very large(for a darter), have very high oxygen demands and would be a poor all around aquarium subject.

There are stretches of the South Fork Holston where any collecting is banned because of the presence of federally Endangered mussels, rather than something dopey like trout. I think Matt Ashton posted something about this a year or more ago here. It's true that you'll sometimes find tangerines in shallower, calmer water but those stream stretches aren't always like that; it's a species that honest-to-Jah requires cool, clean, oxygenated water all the time. The Tennessee Aquarium has some on display, but that's a professionally maintained large tank.

As to federal protection of tangerines and many other species... this is a whole 'nother rant. The Endangered Species Act is enforced by the Fish & Wildlife Service, but that doesn't mean FWS receives all of the money that it needs to assess species for protection. That's why the FWS is always being sued by various groups so that a federal judge will order the government to give more money to FWS for listing studies. And FWS still screws it up sometimes, like they just did over the status of a butterfly in the Sacramento Mountains of southern New Mexico. I could present data as to why the stippled studfish needs real protection, why the blenny darter needs federal protection, why the flame chub needs federal protection, but I don't have the resources of a large enough nonprofit to file suit convincingly in federal district court. Maybe NANFA should do that? I think so, but it would certainly be a can of worms and require us to function in a more focused manner than we have to date.

After all that, I'd say leave them tangerines alone.

There are stretches of the South Fork Holston where any collecting is banned because of the presence of federally Endangered mussels, rather than something dopey like trout. I think Matt Ashton posted something about this a year or more ago here. It's true that you'll sometimes find tangerines in shallower, calmer water but those stream stretches aren't always like that; it's a species that honest-to-Jah requires cool, clean, oxygenated water all the time. The Tennessee Aquarium has some on display, but that's a professionally maintained large tank.

As to federal protection of tangerines and many other species... this is a whole 'nother rant. The Endangered Species Act is enforced by the Fish & Wildlife Service, but that doesn't mean FWS receives all of the money that it needs to assess species for protection. That's why the FWS is always being sued by various groups so that a federal judge will order the government to give more money to FWS for listing studies. And FWS still screws it up sometimes, like they just did over the status of a butterfly in the Sacramento Mountains of southern New Mexico. I could present data as to why the stippled studfish needs real protection, why the blenny darter needs federal protection, why the flame chub needs federal protection, but I don't have the resources of a large enough nonprofit to file suit convincingly in federal district court. Maybe NANFA should do that? I think so, but it would certainly be a can of worms and require us to function in a more focused manner than we have to date.

After all that, I'd say leave them tangerines alone.

I always forget about them mussels, are the streams marked with signs I hope. I'll have to check the regs again don't recall seeing it but it may just be they weren't places I was planning on visiting anyway.

I fully agree on the Tangerines.

Those protection categories vary alot among states. In NC "Special Concern" animals ARE legally protected and you CANNOT collect or possess them.

This leads me to wonder about the legal status of Lucania goodei and Heterandria formosa here in North Carolina. Both species are listed Special Concern. The former is pretty common bycatch shipped with other Florida-produced aquatics, and the latter is well established in the aquarium trade.

I have bred both in the past, under the assumption that the only prohibition was on their collection from NC waters. I guess this means a lot of folks are violating the letter of the law in these cases.

This is straight out of the WRC rule book (I bolded the last part):

It is unlawful to take or possess any state or federally designated
endangered, threatened, or species of special concern, including
sturgeon from the inland waters of North Carolina

so if you get bluefin killies or least killifish from another state, you are not violating the law.