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Minnow ID


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#21 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 13 February 2007 - 11:58 AM

I think you're right, Todd, it's the only way this kind of group ID work can possibly succeed. Hell, let's go for GPS coordinates too! (phase of the moon is optional)

#22 Guest_mzokan_*

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Posted 15 February 2007 - 12:34 PM

Unfortunately that is the best photo I have of the fish. Holding the fish in my hand while taking the pic is the best method I have at the moment, which of course is very bad for showing fin rays. How do the rest of you take such nice pictures? Do you use some sort of glass or plexi chamber to hold your fish in while you photograph?

Todd, leuciodus actually does occur in the Chattooga, so it is still a possibility. They have been recorded from the mountain portions of both the Savannah and Santee river systems. And definitely pick up a copy of Fishes of the Middle Savannah River Drainage (I work with one of the authors so I'm required to advocate it). It is a pretty nice book, but I agree they should have included fishes from other portions of the drainage, at least for the species keys.

This past weekend I finally was able to do some more dipnetting while on a trip to Athens, GA. I caught some lutipinnis in the Middle Oconee River (Altamaha drainage) including a small one which looked very much like my mystery fish. The snout was quite a bit shorter than in the adults and displayed a similar lateral band, more diffuse than in the adults. So I'm leaning toward lutipinnis at the moment.

#23 Guest_daveneely_*

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Posted 15 February 2007 - 02:35 PM

Plexiglas photo containers get scratched really quick, and even the tiniest little nick always winds up being right on top of the fish. For small fish I make a little v-shaped tank with 4 pieces of glass, aquarium siliconed together. The only downside is that they eventually accumulate funk in the 'v', and it's difficult to clean (polishing the glass with toothpaste and a toothbrush smooths out any of the small dings), but they have a short-enough shelf life around me that it's usually not an issue. If you take a smaller piece of glass and place inside of the tank, you can gently press the fish against the front pane; this makes the fish hold position and often gets it to flare its fins (assuming it's alive, I usually knock my fish out with clove oil then fix them in formalin with fins erect for a minute or two before taking photos).

A really bad photo of my setup is at:

http://nomy.org/nanf...GP1261.JPG.html

For larger fish it's a little more complex. You can make a larger photo tank (again, using a separate pane of glass to keep the fish pinned) and that works quite well. It only becomes a problem when the fish get bigger than about 30 cm long, I'm still trying to figure out a good technique for these...

cheers,
Dave

#24 Guest_farmertodd_*

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Posted 15 February 2007 - 04:59 PM

Todd, leuciodus actually does occur in the Chattooga, so it is still a possibility.


My point was more toward the fact that I've only seen yellowfin once, in the field, and was pretty distracted with life at the time. So I really can't make much of a comparison.

I am, however, looking forward to changing this fact this summer :)

Todd




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