Where are common shiners found?

The common shiner can be found in cool clear creeks and small to medium rivers, usually in the faster pools near riffles and in the shallow littoral of ponds and lakes. They usually concentrate on pools. Its preferred water temperature is 21.9 °C.

How do you identify common shiners?

The common shiner is silvery with a deep compressed body, a dusky dorsal stripe, large eyes, diamond-shaped scales that flake off easily, and nine anal rays. It has no barbels and no dark lateral stripe, but there is a dark stripe along the middle of the generally olive-colored back.

Where do Lake shiners spawn?

Unlike most other minnows, they do not spawn over gravel or vegetation, but release their eggs in mid-water during the night. After hatching, the young grow rapidly, reaching 2 inches in length by late fall. They reach maturity during their second summer, and rarely live through their third.

Can you eat common shiner fish?

The golden shiner, or American roach (Notemigonus cryseleucas), a larger, greenish and golden minnow attaining a length of 30 cm and a weight of 0.7 kg (1.5 pounds), is both edible and valuable as bait.

How big do common shiners get?

Total length: 3-5 inches; maximum about 7 inches.

Is a shiner a chub?

Those are just words that have been interchanged among genera as general terms for different minnow species. For instance, common names of numerous species in the same genus end with ‘minnow’, ‘shiner’, or ‘chub’. However, there is a genus of ‘true chubs’ (Nocomis) and ‘creek chubs’ (Semotilus).

How big can common shiners get?

8 inches
The average size of the common shiner is 2 – 4 inches, but can grow up to 8 inches.

What do common shiners eat?

aquatic insects
They are most commonly found in streams and small rivers. They are opportunistic feeders that eat primarily adult and larval aquatic insects, at the surface and midwater. Other occasional foods include smaller fishes and some plant material.

Where do shiners go in the summer?

Spottail shiners breeding season usually occurs in the summertime during the months of June and July. They are thought to spawn in the sandy bottoms and shorelines of the rivers, lakes, and creeks where they live.

What temp do spottail shiners spawn?

about 54 degrees
They don’t come in to spawn until water temperatures hit about 54 degrees and that’s when they start showing up in nets and traps and eventually at bait shops.

Can you eat a minnow?

Though seldom spoken of as edible fish for human consumption, minnows from clean water sources are actually safe to eat! Understandably, they will seldom be the first choice when larger and meatier fish are present.

Are minnows just baby fish?

First, minnows are just that—minnows. Baby bluegills aren’t minnows, although they start off pretty small. People assume that minnows are small fish. If that’s true, then technically baby grass carp are minnows, for heaven’s sake.

What is a common shiner?

The common shiner ( Luxilus cornutus) is a freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, found in North America. It ranges in length between 4 and 6 inches, although they can reach lengths of up to 8 inches. The common shiner is silvery colored (sometimes bronze) and has an “olive back with a dark dorsal stripe.”

Where can I find a shiner fish?

The common shiner can be found in cool clear creeks and small to medium rivers, usually in the faster pools near riffles and in the shallow littoral of ponds and lakes. Its preferred water temperature is 21.9 °C. The common shiner reaches sexual maturity by 1–2 years of age, and produces between 400 and 4000 eggs per year.

How long do shiners live?

Common shiners often spawn over the nest of a creek chub, river chub, or fallfish, although some males will make their own small nests. Gravel in riffles is also possible. Once the eggs are ready the male guards the nesting site. Common shiners are known to hybridize with other shiner species. Common shiners live for about 4-6 years.

How can you tell the difference between Notropis and common shiner?

They are considered sexually mature by 7.4 cm. Breeding males have a pinkish tint over most of their body and small bumps or tubercles on their head. In comparison with Notropis, the common shiner’s head, eyes, and mouth are large.