Mystery Fish...

FireDancer7905

FireDancer7905

I'm in love!
Jul 15, 2006
409
0
16
SJ Bay Area
www.opheliabreathes82.blogspot.com
Real Name
Brandy
Hello All! I am hoping that someone can help my husband and I to identify these fish. We inherited them from an uncle who found them in a body of water somewhere in California (we live in the San Jose Bay Area). The fish are 2 1/2 - 3 inches long. They are silver/grey in color, with a black stripe (varying in darkness) from just behind the eye to the tail. The fins are lovely, patterned with two rows of "dots" followed by a silver/empty space, then yellow/orange and ending with a solid black stripe. The fish are very hardy. I am attaching pics with this in hopes that someone can help. Thank you in advance for your help.

close-up2.jpg tail2.jpg
 
Re: Mystery Fish

At full grown, they're only 3.5" max, so we don't think it's a bass, but we figured it might be some sort of small trout or bass or something along those lines. They seem to big to be minnows. We assume they're probably from Stevens Creek Reservoir or Lexington or something. What other indigenous fish are there around here, or any ideas where I can go to to find out? They're hearty fish and very active, and my uncle said they held their own with two much larger African Cichlids.

Thanks!
 
I know it seems crazy, but he still has them in the tank with cichlids. They all play nice and no one has been hurt. Thanks for the link to the mosquito fish. The fsih I have are longer and striaghter, with more coloring. I will try for some better pics, but they can be hard to get with my cell phone cam.
 
yeah, i didn't think they looked like mosquitofish. They might not be indigenous, either, because the SF Bay is one of, if not the most invaded waterway in the world. It looks like some kind of minnow to me. The largest minnow is the pike minnow and it reaches 6 ft, so 3.5" is definitely not too big to be a minnow. Family Cyprinidae is huge and also includes goldfish, barbs, and danios.

Don't have an exact species, though, because minnows are not my specialty... Sorry

Actually, after doing some looking, it appears that minnows (shiners, daces, roaches included) have forked tail fins. Maybe it is some kind of pupfish/killifish/livebearer (order Cyprinodontiformes) because of the rounded tail. The only one native to the coast of CA is the CA killifish, but it really doesnt look like your fish. Like I said, it could very well be an introduced species.

Again, killifish and livebearers are not my specialty, as they are usually more inland. Sorry again
 
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Thanks for responding plah831. I enjoy your posts. Keep up the good work at the MB Aquarium (I assume that's where you work?), it is one of my favorite places in the world to spend time. Anyway, I ran with the minnow idea and have looked at probably 1000 pics of different species online. The tails ofthe family you mentioned are all "split" and my fish have fan-shaped tails.
 
Jensons said:
Thanks for responding plah831. I enjoy your posts. Keep up the good work at the MB Aquarium (I assume that's where you work?)
Click to expand...
Thanks! I don't work there yet, but it's definitely a possibility...

I looked up more pupfish and their tail base is thicker than your fish, and their heads and mouths are shaped differently.

Hmm, you've really got me stumped! I appreciate the challenge. This one's probably going to keep me up tonight...
 
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Goodied of some sort....almost look like Xenotoca.
 
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