ID Some Fry?

[ThunderOrb]

Okay, so I'm sure this is going to be next to impossible because I do not have any pictures, but I will divulge as much information as I can, regardless.

In Spring of 2009, I was in Arkansas near Siloam Springs at a large creek that runs by the outskirts of town. My friend and I were catching various fish and amphibians to look at and document and we came upon something neither of us had seen before.

There were some fry in a pool of the creek that were almost solid black. At first, we thought they were very tiny tadpoles, but once we caught some and examined them, they were most definitely fish. They looked a lot like guppy or molly fry, but solid black. It wasn't deep black, but more of a faded black from head to tail.

Given the location and the little bit of a description I could give, does anyone have any clues as to what these could be? There were probably 50 in one area and I took four of them home to try to grow out, but they didn't survive the trip back to Missouri. We never saw any more ever again.

 

[ShadowBass]

A lot of fry are black, and most fry look the same without very close examination until they reach a certain size. So without seeing them in person it's impossible to know. Many fish species also spawn in the spring, so that's not a good indicator. The location also doesn't help since that area is home to many species. Unless you could tell someone the exact time you saw them, and the exact part of the waterway you were in, perhaps even the water temperature at that spot, and someone that knows the area well saw your post, you're pretty much out of luck.

If you truly think they looked nearly identical to molly fry, then perhaps they were either some topminnow, another killifish, or mosquitofish. You would know better than I which exact species of killifish are in that area since I haven't collected down there.
Those are the fish I can think of that would definitely resemble molly fry, since mosquitofish are livebearers, and killifish such as topminnows also can resemble livebearers like mollies as juveniles, and would be found in a somewhat stagnant pool. That's my best guess, but don't take it as a 100% certainty.

 

[ThunderOrb]

Well, thanks for the attempt, anyway. I was afraid it was rather hopeless. I'll try again this Spring and see what I come up with. Hopefully, I'll see more and can grow some out this time.

 

[joe jaskot]

ShadowBass's post is pretty accurate. It is really hard to tell. I would guess they were either gambusia affinis or gambusia holbrooki. Gambusia are used for mosquito control in many areas of the country.

Here is a list of some of the fish species found in Arkansas: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...DiaUCN&sig=AHIEtbQHQaJ-pCVNyqqJ4jixDkmuaGNLeg

 

[tjfish]

Wow two people in one thread that are fairly local to me, thats gotta be a first lol.

 

[Pyramid_Party]

Yeah you should get a few and grow them out. Only way to be sure. A lot of fish fry look so similar to each other it is almost impossible to tell until they grow a little.

 

[ThunderOrb]

ShadowBass's post is pretty accurate. It is really hard to tell. I would guess they were either gambusia affinis or gambusia holbrooki. Gambusia are used for mosquito control in many areas of the country.

Here is a list of some of the fish species found in Arkansas: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...DiaUCN&sig=AHIEtbQHQaJ-pCVNyqqJ4jixDkmuaGNLeg

They were definitely not mosquito fish fry. I've seen enough of those in my days to know what they look like. Plus, they aren't black. Heh heh.

I don't know if this is worth noting, but there were some pike fry in the same pool.