What the heck are these???

[ltlbirdie]

My daughters have a 2gal tank. While fishing last year, my daughter caught some "minnows" and we put them in the tank. There are 3 in there now, and they're 1-2 in. long. Here's the weird part--the biggest one has what looks like a gravid spot, and another has an obvious gonopodium. These were caught in the Neuse River (North Carolina). They are really plain little fish, sort of a greenish silver color. Does anybody have any ideas as to what they could possibly be? Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[semper fi]

if you can post a pic of them in the member's tank section and see if anyone can help you out.

maggie

 

[CFC]

Could they be some kind of Goodeid?Not to hot on my geography but they are mainly small plain looking live bearers from central america

 

[MsDad]

More likely than not, they are Gambusia (Mosquito Fish). I believe they are native to some parts of the southeastern US, but have been released by the thousands into the wild over the years in an effort to keep the mosquito population at bay. We find them here in N Florida as well, sometimes a drab gray/olive color, sometimes with black speckles, and occasionally solid black. They are an EXTREMELY prolific fish. If you could post a picture of them, I could tell you for sure...

 

[ltlbirdie]

Maggie--I'll try but it'll take a while. I'm on a webtv si it's a pain in the butt.

cat fish--I found a few pictures of the Goodeld (had never heard of them before) and they don't look like it--mine are more stremlined and don't look shiny at all.

MsDad--I'll have to look up Gambusia and see if I can find a pic. I wonder if they've made it this far north? And I thought that mosquito fish were wild guppies? Have do more reading.

One thing I noticed upon closer inspection is the all have a little black spot under each eye.

Thanks so much to everybody helping me to figure this out!

 

[ltlbirdie]

MsDad--YOU WERE RIGHT!!! I bow to you, o great identifier of fishies!! I found a pic of them here and that's definitely a match! Thank you SOOOOO much!

 

[parula6]

One more point about Ganbusia -- though they look kinda like guppies their disposition is *much* more aggressive. Don't try 'em in a community tank as they'll rip up the other occupants. I tried it once as a kid in Fla. where gambusia are everywhere and you wouldn't believe the carnage!

 

[ltlbirdie]

Thank you parula--I never would have guessed that. Appearances can be deceiving.

They must be some tough fish--they've been living for about 8 months in, ummm, less than perfect conditions (to say the least), and they seem to be going strong. I think the large female is pregnant--not sure yet, time will tell.

Another question--if they do breed successfully, does anybody know if it would be safe to feed the fry to our Columbian shark (if it'll even eat them)?

 

[MsDad]

Thou mayest arise, Ltlbirdie,

No need to grovel at my feet. ;-) Actually, the question about Gambusia is not IF they breed, but when! As for keeping them in a community tank, you could do a native tank using the Gambusia, Jordanella (Florida Flag Fish) and hermit crabs. I've done one before, it's a pretty cool look. I used a light-colored sand for my substrate and Anacharis as it also grows wild here. As to their living conditions, when I was growing up the ditch in front of our house connected to a small feeder creek off the nearby river. That's where I caught many "exotic treasures" (at least to a 9-year-old boy!). So if they can thrive in a ditch, I don't think you'll have any problem keeping them. As to their origin, I did a little research and I was right - they're native to the southeastern US, as well as into Texas, so you could probably find them in NC.

 

[MsDad]

OK Ltlbirdie,

Before you go drowning any hermit crabs, try that with FIDDLER crabs instead! I'm not quite awake yet.....