Stocked Fish.. and fish ID needed.

[corvettekid82]

Stocked my tank today... I caught all my fish at a local spring here, so they cost $2.00 in total (admisson to the State Park). So far I've been able to identify Least Killi Fish, Mosquito Fish, A Marbled Patter Mosquito Fish, Rainbow Top Water Minnows, and Red Eye'd Chubs.. a few ghost shrimp (some with eggs visible in their tails!) and a very very small Pearch of some type. There is also a larger fish (2 1/2 inches) that looks like the Red Eye'd Chubs (but different fins) that I cannot ID. Hes black and gold striped, just like the chubs, but no red markings, and has a small downturned mouth.. with movements like a common goldfish. Any ideas? I attached the best picture I could.. I still need to learn how to adjust the camera for the lighting and other factors. (The camera makes things look yellow). Can't attach the file, its too big.. so here's a link:FISH (http://community.webshots.com/photo/62907986/63654697zwCBns)
I also caught a few craw(cray)-fish.. but I released them at the spring. My experiance is when they get to be of fair size, they start attacking fish.. Also, I've been told that they are illegal to take from the wild by park rangers, so I don't want to get in any trouble. They're cool with taking fish from the shore with a net though.. even friendly about it asking how I was doing and if I caugh any cool species. :D As my tank sets up more and cycles fully I'll be returning for more. I also have a few live plants that came up with the net a few times.. Things are looking great!

[pinballqueen]

Glad to see someone else who's into local species conservation. I don't have a large enough tank to do that where I am, since most of the fish here are from way too specialized an environment for a 55 gallon tank to duplicate...

I can maybe offer some advice on the species ID thing.... the Petersen field guide series has a book on Freshwater fish from North America (north of Mexico). It has pictures and descriptions of almost every native fish you could think of, as well as possible exotics and non-native released fish that are common. (At least, if it's anything like the bird books... I've been trying to track down a copy for months at the book store to no avail....)

Something like that would be great for field ID, so you could be sure you weren't taking a threatened species or anything.

Good luck with the tank! Looks like it will be gorgeous. Keep us posted!

[ChilDawg]

How deeply forked is his tail? Is he from the panhandle? If yes to both, I think that you have the Blacknose Shiner, Notropis heterolepis.

[corvettekid82]

Thanks for the tip pinballqueen! I want to pick up a book by the National Audubon Soc... Its their Field Guide to North American Fishes. Its how I was able to ID a few of the other fish that I've been able to catch. I have to go back and see if I can find my striped friend in there :) And yes... I LOVE local species.. I was hooked big time when I was small and seeing the setups at local Aquariums. They have a large room set up like a river system.. and it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life. Even studied Marine Engineering courses in school for a little bit to see how they set up a system like that.




Originally posted by ChilDawg
How deeply forked is his tail? Is he from the panhandle? If yes to both, I think that you have the Blacknose Shiner, Notropis heterolepis.
His tail has a medium fork to it, nothing outrageous.. and I caught him at Deleon Springs here, in Deleon Springs (town) FL. Its in Central FL, near Daytona and Orlando on the east coast. Its a First-Magnitude Spring, flowing +100cubic feet per second (~64.6 Million Gallons per day) (nifty fact ;)). The spring feeds into the St. Johns River system, and this is where I catch my tank inhabitants. I'll go to Barnes and Noble tomorrow and see if I can find out exactly what he is.. at least now I have a point to start with instead of flipping through 1000's of pictures of fish :)

[corvettekid82]

Originally posted by ChilDawg
How deeply forked is his tail? Is he from the panhandle? If yes to both, I think that you have the Blacknose Shiner, Notropis heterolepis.
After looking at some pictures and not seeing the 'blacknose shiner' in the book I mentioned above.. I'll say that it most likely is. After looking at the other shiners that were there, hes a match except for the coloration. Thanks for your help!

[ChilDawg]

No prob, Mike. Glad to have put book-learning to use. :) One suggestion on books (albeit a little late) would be the Peterson Guide. I love those plates as photos are too variable for my taste in ID guides. Your DNR might be interested to know about the expansion in range, though (unless Peterson is woefully outdated, which, admittedly, is not very far out of the realm of possibility).

[pinballqueen]

Originally posted by ChilDawg
No prob, Mike. Glad to have put book-learning to use. :) One suggestion on books (albeit a little late) would be the Peterson Guide. I love those plates as photos are too variable for my taste in ID guides. Your DNR might be interested to know about the expansion in range, though (unless Peterson is woefully outdated, which, admittedly, is not very far out of the realm of possibility).

Petersen has just been updated and re-released a few months back in Leatherbound field copy. I didn't see too many glaring errors or anything, so I'd say they've probably used figures from 99 or 2000 at earliest.