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Mystery fish
Sep. 21st, 2011 04:32 pmOn Sunday, on my way back to the city from the farm, I stopped at my usual rest stop, the one with a pit toilet and two concrete picnic tables next to a shady creek. In the summer, I splashed around and swam in the creek a couple of times, and it's deliciously cool. The nicest thing, though, is that the water is so clear you can watch the fish and crawdads swimming and walking around. (I know I posted a crawdad photo here at least once.) Most of the fish are basically minnows, a few slightly larger fish that look like some kind of bream.
But this time, for some reason, I noticed a new one hiding in plain sight, all the way on the other side of the creek. It was among some rocks and under some overhanging leaves; I had spotted it moving, but the only way I could see it once it settled was to pick out its round fins, two on a side which were parallel to the bottom of the creek.
I may have gasped slightly. There's a kind of thrill when you spot something in the wild that you've never seen, especially something that you can't identify. Even if it turns out to be something common, it's a discovery.
Since I got back to civilization, I have failed to identify it. Even with my bigger camera, I could only get a couple of low-light, blurry photos, and I discovered with some annoyance that almost every freshwater fish identification guide for my region has been made in service to anglers, so they only include game fish and invasive nuisance fish. I'll keep looking, but in the meantime I made notes so I don't forget any details.
location: creek at rest stop
date: Sept 18, 2011
size: estimated 6 inches long, 1-1.5 inches wide at widest point
features: body more "horizontally flat" than "vertically flat" (able to hug the bottom of the stream); 4 wide, round-ish horizontal (parallel to stream bed) fins - 2 coming from each side - 1 pair close to the head and another identical pair an inch or so back; light body with broad black patches along its sides (not well-defined stripes, but not evenly mottled)
behavior: hiding among large rocks at edge of stream under some overhanging branches; did not move with a series of pebbles tossed near it, only darted out when a larger stone was lobbed very near its location; immediately sought cover among rocks again
But this time, for some reason, I noticed a new one hiding in plain sight, all the way on the other side of the creek. It was among some rocks and under some overhanging leaves; I had spotted it moving, but the only way I could see it once it settled was to pick out its round fins, two on a side which were parallel to the bottom of the creek.
I may have gasped slightly. There's a kind of thrill when you spot something in the wild that you've never seen, especially something that you can't identify. Even if it turns out to be something common, it's a discovery.
Since I got back to civilization, I have failed to identify it. Even with my bigger camera, I could only get a couple of low-light, blurry photos, and I discovered with some annoyance that almost every freshwater fish identification guide for my region has been made in service to anglers, so they only include game fish and invasive nuisance fish. I'll keep looking, but in the meantime I made notes so I don't forget any details.
location: creek at rest stop
date: Sept 18, 2011
size: estimated 6 inches long, 1-1.5 inches wide at widest point
features: body more "horizontally flat" than "vertically flat" (able to hug the bottom of the stream); 4 wide, round-ish horizontal (parallel to stream bed) fins - 2 coming from each side - 1 pair close to the head and another identical pair an inch or so back; light body with broad black patches along its sides (not well-defined stripes, but not evenly mottled)
behavior: hiding among large rocks at edge of stream under some overhanging branches; did not move with a series of pebbles tossed near it, only darted out when a larger stone was lobbed very near its location; immediately sought cover among rocks again