Blacknose Dace - Rhinichthys atratulus

[infernalis]

Are these safe to feed??

I could not find a yay or nay either way....

I have tons of them available.

[Zephyr]

I'd think so... How'd you come across this fishy fortune per say?

[infernalis]

I'd think so... How'd you come across this fishy fortune per say?


The creek out back is abundant with them:D

One thing I have noticed already, I have a bunch and they do not die like the feeders were.

The fish from Petco would drop so fast I had to skim dead ones daily, these Dace minnows are hardy fish! very robust, and they flop around a lot, so they get the attention of the snakes quickly.

The local wild Garters and Nerodia eat this species of minnow frequently......I'd wager to say they are the primary diet of the wild nerodia.

[crzy_kevo]

wyne can you post a pic so i can see if they are the same as the tiny fish i have seen in this area and are o so easy to scoop about a hundred of them with a net

[Lori P]

I'd love to see a pic too-- I've been trying to identify the bait store minnows I've been feeding. They are so hardy, they fatten up beautifully, and they are very active too...

[infernalis]

Here are some in the aquarium.

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data/500/dace.jpg


Make sure those bait store fish are not fathead minnows.

[Lori P]

That's them!!! Well, at least, that looks like them-- silvery, with a black stripe, and a very faint goldish tone on top. My bait store calls them silverbacks but I could never find that term. I'm going to go try to get pics. :-)

[Lori P]

Here are mine-- the gold really comes out with the flash! They look mostly silver in natural light.

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/minnows_001_resize.jpg

They are always doing the Feed-Me dance when I walk by! :)

Now that I look back at yours, they don't look the same... mine don't have the stripe follow thru to in front of their eyes. Hmmm, still wondering what they are...

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

wayne, those are the same fish that I catch out in my creek... and they are SO abundant!!!

[Snake lover 3-25]

me too!!! i have those everywhere!!! so i can catch them and put them in my aqu. to use as feeders???

[infernalis]

They do like them:D

[Garter_Gertie]

Lori, not the same. Check the mouths. Yours are top feeders - they mouth turns up. Waynes are like middle to bottom feeders. See the difference in the mouth?

Also the eyes are in different places; Waynes set further back, yours more to the front - so no black stripe can get in there.

I'd guess yours are some type of minnow.

[Snake lover 3-25]

cool!!! i'm gonna do it next year:D

[kurtnagel]

The most abundant little fish in my local creek appear to be mosquito fish. My understanding is that these guys have been introduced just about everywhere around the U.S. to control mosquito populations. They are clearly top feeders (mouth up high) and are (prolific) live breeders. I have a growing population in my tank. Anyone have a feel for them? Again I suspect they are diet for the native population around here. I'll post a picture in a bit.

[kurtnagel]

Okay,

Here are the mosquito fish:

http://www.greatthingsgreen.com/mosq1.jpg

Note the black spot near the back of the belly on this one? She's preggers!

http://www.greatthingsgreen.com/mosq2

[Snake lover 3-25]

ick they're UGLY!!!!! i'd be able to feed THOSE to my snakes:D lol:p

[kurtnagel]

ick they're UGLY!!!!! i'd be able to feed THOSE to my snakes:D lol:p
Hmmm, I'd say plain :p Ugly is such a strong word!

It's really hard to tell in these pictures, but what they look like is a drab molly or swordtail (without the sword). They do have a dark "lace" pattern that follows the scales that is kind of interesting, but yes, they are plain and I don't shed a tear dropping them in the water bowl ;)

They are also a challenge to catch in the creek, not just a swoop of the net. They tend to hang out near the edges, where there are plants and see you coming. It is a kinda like swatting a fly, you have to drop the net where you *think* they are going to be next!

[infernalis]

We use one of those "fish net" laundry hampers, lay it on the side and herd the fish in like cattle....:D

[kurtnagel]

That would work. I've been doing it with a six year old and a barbie butterly net! We talk about the herding plan, but it has yet to come together. Maybe next spring ;)

[Snake lover 3-25]

We use one of those "fish net" laundry hampers, lay it on the side and herd the fish in like cattle....:D

that's a great idea!!! :D

[Garter_Gertie]

They look look like wild mollies. Weird.

[kurtnagel]

They look look like wild mollies. Weird.
That's what I thought. They look like any number of your basic live breeders I've kept in my aquariums for years. Right now I am loading the tank with plenty of cover so that some of the babies can survive without being eaten! Hopefully I can maintain a sufficient population over the winter for feeding.

Just as a side note, I did buy some rosies yesterday to feed in the meantime. Rosa ate one, but threw it up partially digested later and has since ignored the rest. If I put the mosquito fish in her bowl, she will snap them right up. Go figure....

[Garter_Gertie]

She know her 'poison', Kurt...

Good girl!

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

they more closesly resemble guppies than mollies, platies or swordtails IMO... but either way... i know a certain bunch of snakes that would suck them up!!!

[kurtnagel]

they more closesly resemble guppies than mollies, platies or swordtails IMO... but either way... i know a certain bunch of snakes that would suck them up!!!
True,

Add the fancy tails and they *could* be guppies, although I've never seen guppies get this large. The largest ones in the creek (that I couldn't catch, fast buggers) were 2 1/2 - 3 inches.

And yes, not really important to the snake :D

[infernalis]

And yes, not really important to the snake

My snakes think so, the second one of the minnows starts thrashing about, they swallow it right up:D

[infernalis]

I just got done looking at the cabellas web site, and found a 3x3 umbrella net for 12 bucks!

We have been catching these minnows from smaller isolated pools with an aquarium dip net.

With a 3 foot square net on a rope, the "catch" would be substantially more minnows.

With winter right around the corner, I'd like to stock up on the fishies...

Only a couple snakes are going down for brumation, so I will have to feed the rest.

[reptile3]

I look out my backyard... creek.. NOPE no creek. No worms, no slugs, no nothing. :(



The creek out back is abundant with them:D

One thing I have noticed already, I have a bunch and they do not die like the feeders were.

The fish from Petco would drop so fast I had to skim dead ones daily, these Dace minnows are hardy fish! very robust, and they flop around a lot, so they get the attention of the snakes quickly.

The local wild Garters and Nerodia eat this species of minnow frequently......I'd wager to say they are the primary diet of the wild nerodia.

[GartersRock]

Ok... What do you guys know about:
Texas Shiners (Notropis amabilis)
Blacktail Shiner (Cyprinella venusta)
I THINK thats mostly what is in our rivers... But why is it so hard to find info on this stuff. LOL

[Garter_Gertie]

I know they're NOT a dace - because of the names! LOL!!!

Shiners, I think, aren't good. BUT I don't know what the proper names of the shiners are that aren't good!

We've got shiners, crapie minnows, bullhead minnows, and some I'm forgetting in the bait shops. And I don't know which - if any - are bad and which - if any - aren't bad!

Can you look up like common minnow and compare the proper name to those above? What's the name of the minnow on our care sheet - if minnow is even listed?