Field Photos
How do you feel about fish identification?
Do you want to learn the skills to be a conservation minded angler or become a better fisheries biologist?
I always tell people when you catch a small-bodied fish, it should always be in an aquarium so you can see all the ID features and the fish can breathe!
Check out the products page that offers field guides for Alberta and Saskatchewan displaying the aquarium. My books have an easy key ID feature section for beginners to advanced biologists that I have referenced/aquired over my 15 year fisheries field career.
Check out the photos below to test your skills. Scroll over the photo for the answer.
No cheating as you should aim for a minimum of 3 ID features.
Example, Lake Chub have a barbel in the corner of their mouth, pink in the pits and dorsal fin origin is parallel or slightly behind the pelvic fin origin.
When you are done, there are more Fish ID quizzes below the photos.
Check out the Trout Unlimited Canada Northern Lights Fly Fishes - Identifying Minnows
Do you want to learn the skills to be a conservation minded angler or become a better fisheries biologist?
I always tell people when you catch a small-bodied fish, it should always be in an aquarium so you can see all the ID features and the fish can breathe!
Check out the products page that offers field guides for Alberta and Saskatchewan displaying the aquarium. My books have an easy key ID feature section for beginners to advanced biologists that I have referenced/aquired over my 15 year fisheries field career.
Check out the photos below to test your skills. Scroll over the photo for the answer.
No cheating as you should aim for a minimum of 3 ID features.
Example, Lake Chub have a barbel in the corner of their mouth, pink in the pits and dorsal fin origin is parallel or slightly behind the pelvic fin origin.
When you are done, there are more Fish ID quizzes below the photos.
Check out the Trout Unlimited Canada Northern Lights Fly Fishes - Identifying Minnows
Fun helpful tips for Shiners provided by Holly Inglis:
Redside Shiner plump like a pig and even the anal is big
River Shiner in line with a dorsal line
Emerald Shiner clear not fat with beer
Redside Shiner plump like a pig and even the anal is big
River Shiner in line with a dorsal line
Emerald Shiner clear not fat with beer
Online Quizzes
and
Other Fish ID Workshops
More fun fish facts
As I was studying for my Biology of Fishes class, I realized (even more) how absolutely amazing small-bodied fish really are.
A few more, stickleback are awesome, characteristics!
This link also solidifies my argument on the importance of small-bodied fish:
http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/analysis/2015/09/15/how-to-identify-a-forage-fish-and-why-we-need-to
Yay to the world of extraordinary fish!
Did you know…………………
1. Threespine Stickleback are smart enough to feed out of a jar? An experiment with Threespine Stickleback showed how they acquired learned behavior to access food from the jar placed upright in an aquarium. After running into the sides of the jar a few times, they started to swim near the top and realized they could get in the jar swimming down to get the food. Once they got the food, successional attempts were always accessing the jar from the top. Intelligent fish.
2. “Patrolling in pairs”. If both Threespine Stickleback cooperate and fight back on a predator attack, both Stickleback win. However, if cheating occurs and one Stickleback swims away from the attack, only one individual benefits. But, if both cooperate, both individuals benefit working in pairs which builds trust. So when choosing pairs in the future, if cheating occurs, Stickleback’s will remember this and choose a different partner (learning from con-specifics). Once again, intelligent fish.
3. Cleaner fish (not Stickleback) have “clients”. Essentially cleaners remove ectoparasites from clients. But if the cleaner fish bites, the client can punish the cleaner fish. Then the cleaner fish will give better service after punishment. Cleaner fish can console the client through dorsal fin rubbing (ha). Or the cleaner fish can cheat by running away from the punishment and finding a bigger client to hide behind for protection. Intelligence is the ultimate answer.
Absolutely fascinating fish…………!
A few more, stickleback are awesome, characteristics!
This link also solidifies my argument on the importance of small-bodied fish:
http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/analysis/2015/09/15/how-to-identify-a-forage-fish-and-why-we-need-to
Yay to the world of extraordinary fish!
Did you know…………………
1. Threespine Stickleback are smart enough to feed out of a jar? An experiment with Threespine Stickleback showed how they acquired learned behavior to access food from the jar placed upright in an aquarium. After running into the sides of the jar a few times, they started to swim near the top and realized they could get in the jar swimming down to get the food. Once they got the food, successional attempts were always accessing the jar from the top. Intelligent fish.
2. “Patrolling in pairs”. If both Threespine Stickleback cooperate and fight back on a predator attack, both Stickleback win. However, if cheating occurs and one Stickleback swims away from the attack, only one individual benefits. But, if both cooperate, both individuals benefit working in pairs which builds trust. So when choosing pairs in the future, if cheating occurs, Stickleback’s will remember this and choose a different partner (learning from con-specifics). Once again, intelligent fish.
3. Cleaner fish (not Stickleback) have “clients”. Essentially cleaners remove ectoparasites from clients. But if the cleaner fish bites, the client can punish the cleaner fish. Then the cleaner fish will give better service after punishment. Cleaner fish can console the client through dorsal fin rubbing (ha). Or the cleaner fish can cheat by running away from the punishment and finding a bigger client to hide behind for protection. Intelligence is the ultimate answer.
Absolutely fascinating fish…………!