Name that fish....

[HawgHunter]

A buddy of mine caught this fish in a cast net on a fishing trip....inquiring minds have been tryng to figure out what it is....any idea's????

[Mzungu]

Where was he? Fresh or Salt? How big is this fish? I'm guessing just a couple inches, but just to be sure...

[HawgHunter]

It's about 4 inches long and came from fresh water....not sure which body of water though.

[mdwalt]

Fundulus majalis or Striped killifish
Found from New Hampshire to the Gulf of Mexico. A member of a large family of small schooling fish that inhabit marshes and grass flats in astounding numbers. This species has dark vertical bars. Grows to 7 inches in length.

[HawgHunter]

Cool!!!! The folks wondering were also wondering if they make good crappie bait!....

[Mzungu]

Nope. All Fundulus species make TERRIBLE crappie bait. You should tell your friend to keep them alive in a bucket and give them to me after fishing.

[Mzungu]

mdwalt - is there another name (scientific) for the species you mentioned? I had never heard of it before you posted it, so when I got home I looked it up in my books, and can't find it in any of them.

Thanks!

[Nickintex]

Nope. All Fundulus species make TERRIBLE crappie bait. You should tell your friend to keep them alive in a bucket and give them to me after fishing.

Yeah, they suck for bait, but make GREAT aquarium fish. If Mzungu passes on them, I'll be happy to take them!

[HawgHunter]

I do a lot of fishing and always catch my own bait....so I run into ALOT of little minnows and fish that I have no idea what they are. I only use certain bait and throw the rest back....I'll keep you folks in mind in future trips.

BTW....I was told that the fish in question was caught in Lake Conroe in a cast net.

[mdwalt]

If this fish was netted in Lake Conroe, I may have mis-identified it. Although they can tolerate a wide range of salinity, Fundulus majalis are primarily a saltwater fish. I don't think you'd find one in Lake Conroe.

I still think it's of the Fundulus genus, though. Maybe a Fundulus lineolatus (Striped Topminnow).

[Mzungu]

HH - Your friend didn't happen to keep this fish, or anything? I know it's a long shot, but I thought I'd ask... It's easier for me to ID fish when they're in water sometimes. It looks like a Fundulus, but it's so long, and the mouth looks a bit more pointed than their usual shape.

If your friend catches one again, definitely keep us in mind! Plus, you saw what sort of species we like to keep in aquariums yesterday, so if you catch any more "desireables" in freshwater, you'll be a very popular guy! :)

[Tiapan]

i will add my name to the line of people waiting for extra Non
"Bait Fish"

[HawgHunter]

HH - Your friend didn't happen to keep this fish, or anything? I know it's a long shot, but I thought I'd ask... It's easier for me to ID fish when they're in water sometimes. It looks like a Fundulus, but it's so long, and the mouth looks a bit more pointed than their usual shape.

If your friend catches one again, definitely keep us in mind! Plus, you saw what sort of species we like to keep in aquariums yesterday, so if you catch any more "desireables" in freshwater, you'll be a very popular guy! :)

Unfortunatly they let it go, as they didn't know what it was or if it was protected or anything. We catch alot of different fish in our nets, I'll start keeping and photographing our bait catches. I fish alot in brackish water in the San Jac below the Lake Houston dam....so most of it will come from there. But we also hit Lakes Houston and Conroe from time to time....I'll definetly keep everyone in mind.

[Paleoguy]

Good job you got the genus correct! Fundulus zebrinus - the orientation of the photo threw me off for a second. Zebrinus has a subterminal mouth and reachs about 1000mm in length and they are found in this area. I have caught a couple from Lake Conro but I would still bet they were introduced as bait.

[Dan Johnson]

BIGSCALE LOGPERCH Percina macrolepida. Very cool fish.