Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Perch Minnows?

Just wondering if these are perch minnows?

Kids are catching them around the pond with small nets.

Cheers Don.

Not YP. Some sort of sculpin or other bottom orientated small fish?

Where's CJ or Bill Cody when you need 'em?

Those are commonly called darters. Technical name Etheostoma. Same fish family as the YP and walleye (Percidae) but different genus.
A common one in the central US and southern Canada is the Johnny darter (Etheostoma nigrum) which could be the one you have in your pond. The Johnny darter can tolerate pond habitats.
http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=814
http://gallery.nanfa.org/v/members/Uland...ageViewsIndex=2
http://fishesofboneyardcreek.weebly.com/johnny-darter.html

Wow that is very cool. They just showed up in our pond. Only way in would have been with the fat heads two years ago or the shiners three years ago.

Thanks guys for the ID.

Cheers Don.

Based on your photos and location, it is almost certainly a Johnny darter, which is one if not the most common darter species. It is most common in stream habitats, but can adapt to ponds, especially those that are clear with rocky/sand bottoms. I have experimented with a closely related eastern relative, the tessellated darter.

This is good to know. Our pond edge is all rock. There is about 12 feet of rock on the slope. The pond is really clean as it is only four years old. The shallow edges are the only places we have FA now. I am beginning to think some FA is a good thing. There is so much life in it and the young crayfish just love to eat the stuff.

Ask me next year what I think of FA with more nutrient load in the pond.

This was the first time I have been in swimming and the minnows are nipping at you. I have learned I can't get small walleye until fall.

Cheers Don.