# Coldwater fish ID!!!!



## redthebetta (Aug 11, 2013)

I was at my local lake with my sister chatting about random stuff and I found a small catfish of some sort. Of course, my ever generous sister braves the cold waters and catches him! The water is really, really, really cold. I'm thinking of keeping him in an unheated tank in a cold part of our house. But, I don't know what species he is or what he eats. Here's some photos:








































Thanks! 
P.S. I named him Leo because he looks like a lionfish! The lake he is from is called Kootany.


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## erinbirdsong (Jan 16, 2013)

He looks like a freshwater Goby 

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/stdprodcon...versity/documents/document/stdprod_104406.pdf


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

I agree, looks like some kind of goby.


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Definitely a goby or related species. You and the fish would probably be better off if you rereleased it, but if you want to keep it I would do some research on freshwater goby species and their needs and go from there.


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

I strongly advocate for re-releasing. Since you don't know the exact species, you don't know what it needs. Further, this isn't like a tank-bred fish - it's used to having the whole lake to swim around in. Confining to a tank seems unnecessary and restrictive. If it's omnivorous, it will be used to a varied diet of live food, which you won't necessarily be able to supply. You don't know how it will take to captivity, and I worry that you will be risking its wellbeing by attempting to make it do so. 

You may have gathered, I am very against people taking catching animals in the wild.


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## trilobite (May 18, 2011)

I dont know about American laws but in NZ its illegal to release fish back into the wild even if its a native....but you could probably get away with it and no one will know
If you were to keep it you would probably need a chiller to keep the water at a stable cold temp. Wild fish can be trained to eat frozen or flake food, but yeah google everything about it and find out 100% what species it is


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## redthebetta (Aug 11, 2013)

trilobite said:


> I dont know about American laws but in NZ its illegal to release fish back into the wild even if its a native....but you could probably get away with it and no one will know
> If you were to keep it you would probably need a chiller to keep the water at a stable cold temp. Wild fish can be trained to eat frozen or flake food, but yeah google everything about it and find out 100% what species it is


I think I have cold enough water! It's Canada for god's sake! :lol:


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Keep the tank in your basement and if it's anything like most basements in a Canada, there's no way you'll need a chiller.


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

It's cute as heck but I would put it back for the ethical reasons others have mentioned.


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## sandybottom (Nov 29, 2012)

you could research the lake you found it in.see what the lake is stocked with. some of the freshwater goby are endangered,this looks like one of the listed fish.it may have been a very bad mistake to take this fish. it is never a good idea to take native species without being able to identify them.in minnesota we have to have a license to have native species.i would return the fish a.s.a.p! i would think twice before doing this again.


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## sandybottom (Nov 29, 2012)

could also be a round goby which is a invasive species.how large is this fish?


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## sandybottom (Nov 29, 2012)

does this fish have two distinct pectoral fins,or a single disc-like pectoral fin?it may be a sculpin also.


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## redthebetta (Aug 11, 2013)

Yep, it's a round goby.


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## sandybottom (Nov 29, 2012)

i think maybe shimofuri gobi, but most likely yellowfin goby.it is missing the black spot that the round goby has.shimofuri and yellowfin do inhabit that lake. they are a invasive species if so.


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## sandybottom (Nov 29, 2012)

they eat small crustaceans and fish.i bet feeder ghost shrimp would work.


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## redthebetta (Aug 11, 2013)

NOOOOOOOOOO! Not my shrimpies! I can't get any more than the ~6 I have in my community tank because the closest store that sells them is an hour away and they charge _$10_ for one shrimp!


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## Laki (Aug 24, 2011)

If you can't feed it what it needs, then release it back :/


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

If it's an invasive species it is probably very illegal to release it back into the waterway. Even if it was a native species I don't think you are supposed to re-release fish that have been removed from the water and taken back to your home just in case they come into contact with harmful pathogens while under your care.


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## redthebetta (Aug 11, 2013)

That shrimp thing was a joke :L I'll try a shrimp today.


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

What have you done or decided to do with the fish?


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## redthebetta (Aug 11, 2013)

I released him this morning.


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## zombieaddict (Nov 11, 2013)

That guy is way too cute! It's a shame you can't get shrimp to feed him.


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## trilobite (May 18, 2011)

+1 LBF 
If you did that here you'd be fined $5000-$100000 or 5 years jail for releasing an invasive species into the wild... should have culled it and done your natives a favour


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Honestly, not trying sound rude or start anything, but unless any of you are goby experts, experienced in the biology of British Columbian lakes, or happened to genetically test the fish in question, I don't think anyone here is qualified to say definitively whether or not this was, for certain, an invasive species. There are endangered goby species too- Who's to say this wasn't one of them? 

Red, I think you made the right choice.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

That's why you shouldn't take any fish out of a body of water without knowing 100% what it is. It's probably just as bad to remove an endangered species from a lake as it is to re-release an invasive species. 

This is why Australia has so many restrictions on allowable fish species. People don't realise the possible ramifications of releasing fish that have been kept in captivity back into the wild. Imagine if the goby was exposed to a harmful pathogen that its release then introduced into the lake or wherever it was caught. 

In OZ, we nearly got the import of anabantoid fish stopped because of the threat of iridovirus being brought in and introduced to native fish. It was so close to happening, and the threat of such legislation being brought in is still there.


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## rsskylight04 (Nov 9, 2013)

*eurasian goby*

I think its a eurasian goby. Invasive non native fish that is wreaking havocfrom great lakes to north canada. I love fish, but this one is a real problem. Destroying yellow perch and walleye populations. I would never suggest to anyone to kill a fish but...


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## Vickytoria3112 (Jun 4, 2013)

I think what he did by releasing it back into the lake was the right thing to do. Obviously he had it in a jar with water from the lake. He didn't introduce the fish to any other water and he obviously didn't feed it and decided to let it go rather than use a beloved shrimp or take that one hour drive to buy more. I'm happy the little guy is back home.


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