Snipe (and others),

Does it even matter if we get perfect identification in most situations?

I am not meaning to be flippant.

The watershed in that area contains:

Arkansas River Shiner
Bigeye Shiner
Blacknose Shiner
Emerald Shiner
Ghost Shiner
Mimic Shiner
River Shiner
Sand Shiner
Topeka Shiner

Bluntface Shiner
Cardinal Shiner
Carmine Shiner
Golden Shiner
Red Shiner
Redfin Shiner

The top nine are all from genus Notropis.

So for example, if some guy in Missouri got one of his local Notropis species shiners from his creek to establish a sustained population in his one-acre pond, would a different species of shiner in the same genus also have a similar chance of establishing in a similar Kansas pond? [Assuming some species in the genera would be equally happy in a calm pond as they were in a creek with some current.]

Or do you think there would still be significant lifestyle and habitat preferences within that genera, such that we would need species level information to make useful predictions?