Liquid Sunshine

Howdy folks,

I finally got around to assembling some footage we took of a spawning Cyprinids in central Kentucky a two seasons ago. Well, maybe not actually spawning, more like establishing dominance among the males. We didn't see any actual spawning. However, the event was curious, as typically the minnows are parasitizing the nests of Nocomis chubs. However, this is a scour, presumably left by spawning Moxostoma suckers. And it looks a little something like this:

 spawning_cluster_sm.jpg   121.79KB   10 downloads
Photo by Jeff Grabarkiewicz

The video is found here:



Anyway, there's some footage at first for fun and so you can see how little the fish care that we're there. You can kind of see the ball from the surface, the scour is the dark spot right upstream of the snorkelers. In order of appearance are Casper Cox, Jeff Grabarkiewicz, Justin Selden, Phil Mathias and Philip Kukulski. Sorry Nathan, the footage following your appearance fell to the cutting room floor

For a full recount of this trip, hop on over here:

http://forum.nanfa.o...u-loose-ky-508/

Todd

Edited by farmertodd, 20 January 2010 - 09:10 AM.

Wow! A gesture really is worth a thousand words, isn't it? (I know that's not the saying, but in this case it fits.)

Ah, man, that brings back memories! I really got to get me an underwater camera before nuptial season is back in full swing.

Ooooooooo... I just dont have the words.
TODD can i use that pic as my screen saver?

Yeah, that was a good day, wasn't it Nathan? It was cool to head up to the mainstem, but man I kick myself every time I look at this rushed video that I didn't stay there the rest of the day and get footage of everything else going on around there.

I showed this to Mollie Cashner from Tulane who works with Hydrophlox and she says that the Tennessee shiners at least are actively spawning. She saw gravid females in the mix. I'm going to guess they don't fire up until it's time based on what I've watched in my aquaria. I'll have to watch this on my dad's big plasma and see if I can get any sequences where you can see the spawn.

Todd

Watch on the big screen and tell me what the light colored pointy rocks are mid screen about 4.22. I was thinking flint but I saw one piece move in the current like something light, shell or pottery?

I'm not exactly sure what you're looking at, but what I see that's light in color are freshly excavated chert.

Todd