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So, I went to FRII yesterday, and spotted 4 little fish in some of the bottom tanks, in the area where most of the "native" fish are, the ones they pull from the feeders (mollies, gambusia, sheepshead, etc..). I was confused - they looked like gobies but also a little like darters. I asked the guy what they were, and he told me they were a kind of etheostoma. Well, I was sold no matter what, so he bagged them up for me.
I spent a LOT of time at home just watching them - they're so cute! But I became more and more unsure of what they are. I looked through all my books, couldn't find a darter that came anywhere near their looks. Then I noticed that one of them was almost standing up in the corner. No big deal. Then I later saw one of them halfway up the back side of the aquarium, content to just stay there. In my experience, I've never seen a darter do that, and I then noticed they had the fused ventral fins of a goby...! Don't think darters have those. So I was excited to try to pin it down....but after today, I'm just more confused.
Can anyone help me ID these guys? I'd like to know if I need to do anything special!
They change color/design quickly and often, so one minute they stand out and the next they've blended into the substrate. There seems to be a slight hint of red on the tops of the dorsal fins, but not quite sure.
You can see the ventral fins pretty well in this one:
Top view:
When I first noticed the behavior (and please ignore the bald head from the newspaper, that was the day the Houston Chronicle did a story on what it felt like to be tasered...):
I like this one b/c you can see one on the wall in the corner, one in the midground with the striped pattern, and the one in the foreground without the pattern (for now, at least.) :
Striped:
All four:
And last, you can ALMOST see the red in the dorsal fin:
Thanks for any help!
I spent a LOT of time at home just watching them - they're so cute! But I became more and more unsure of what they are. I looked through all my books, couldn't find a darter that came anywhere near their looks. Then I noticed that one of them was almost standing up in the corner. No big deal. Then I later saw one of them halfway up the back side of the aquarium, content to just stay there. In my experience, I've never seen a darter do that, and I then noticed they had the fused ventral fins of a goby...! Don't think darters have those. So I was excited to try to pin it down....but after today, I'm just more confused.
Can anyone help me ID these guys? I'd like to know if I need to do anything special!
They change color/design quickly and often, so one minute they stand out and the next they've blended into the substrate. There seems to be a slight hint of red on the tops of the dorsal fins, but not quite sure.
You can see the ventral fins pretty well in this one:
Top view:
When I first noticed the behavior (and please ignore the bald head from the newspaper, that was the day the Houston Chronicle did a story on what it felt like to be tasered...):
I like this one b/c you can see one on the wall in the corner, one in the midground with the striped pattern, and the one in the foreground without the pattern (for now, at least.) :
Striped:
All four:
And last, you can ALMOST see the red in the dorsal fin:
Thanks for any help!
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