mottled sculpin!!!

[ShadowBass]

If you look at your links, and click on the mottled sculpin, you'll notice that they have bands.
Even when the bands are broken, you can still see vague signs that they're connected. They're not irregularly scattered or checkered like your prickly sculpin. And also, when mottled sculpins do color up very dark they tend to look very distinct (which helps identify them as a mottled, not a banded). I was hoping I still had pics of mine, but all I have are pics of my banded.

Mottleds also don't have a distinct black spot at the base of the first dorsal fin.

 

[Kaosu]

the first pic is of my larger one just over 3 inches..the second is just under an inch, the last pic i have two that look like that, and are just over an inch here are some better pics of them

 

[Kaosu]

haha your so right..when i was looking them up i was sure i had a mottled when i got my first one..but you are right...they are spiny sculpin... well all but those two.. you rock shadowbass!!!!!

 

[ShadowBass]

they are spiny sculpin.

Prickly. lol.

Not that it matters. Cottus asper is the scientific name, which is easy to remember.

Cottus is the freshwater genus of sculpins. If there is another genus for the freshwater variety I'm not aware of it (not being an ichthyologist that specializes in cottidae, I don't memorize what all the genus refer to).

Most sculpins are found in saltwater and brackish.

 

[joemackereth]

badass fish and a sweet setup! well done.

 

[ShadowBass]

The above species are freshwater. They live inland. Freshwater sculpin species are present all over the U.S.. Most people that keep them go out and catch them themselves.

I don't think they're commonly available for sale due to wildcaught native fish regulations. And I don't know of anyone that spawns them for sale. If you go looking, you might find someone that spawns them as a hobby and will give you some. But your best bet is to find out if you can legally catch and keep wild aquarium fish in your area and find out which sculpin species are legal to catch. Your local DNR or Department of Wildlife should be able to give you information on that, if it's not already available online.

The North American Native Fishes Assocation (nanfa.org) should have information on what's available in your area and the legalities of attaining those species.

 

[Kaosu]

yeah prickly ^_^

did those last pics help any of ID of the other ones, they dont look like slimy to me but then again...i had a wrong ID to begin with......now to see if i can change my thread name lol

badass fish and a sweet setup! well done.

thank you ^_^

Are these fish hard to find commercially??? I dont live anywhere near salt or brackish waters, but would love to set up a special tank for one or two.

Are they hard to keep alive in captivity???

Mine all adapted fast to tank life, and are doing well after about a year (for my largest), and a few months now for the smaller few in the tank. iv herd mixed reviews but personally i have had no trouble keeping them alive they seem like pretty hardy fish if you can keep there water cool/clean enough. my large one has grown from under an inch to nearly 3 sens i have had it.

 

[ShadowBass]

Sorry, I didn't notice your second pics.

I don't think the bottom one is a slimy. I actually think it may just be a prickly with a different coloration. But he's not patterned up so I'm not sure. He may be the same species at the above 2.
It could actually be some kind of weird color variation of a mottled, because it has pretty big fanlike pectoral fins.

Can you get a pic close up with the anal fin in plain view, such as when he's sitting half on and half off a rock?

 

[ShadowBass]

[Edited: Please reread if you read before edit]

I stared at the first 2 pics for several minutes now, and I think they may actually just be pricklies too. I was paying more attention the bands (which is a mistake on my part - should know better when IDing sculpin especially), rather than noticing the checkered pattern around the belly. And the fin arrangement appears to be about the same as the ones we already possitively IDd as prickly sculpin.

You can also distinguish (assuming they're not hybridized something) by counting pelvic fin rays.

But some species are hard to distinguish from each other, especially when colored up a certain way. They can actually vary quite a bit by waterway and region.

The prickly is just fairly easy to ID (compared to other sculpin) because it has specfic characteristics at times. If they develop that black spot at any point you can be pretty sure that's what they are.

What's funny about sculpins is several species will congregate together, so even if you catch them from the exact same spot you can't assume they're all the same species.

I caught several sculpins from the exact same spot, and there were ozark, banded and mottled (I count rays and such to make an actual determination).

And from what I'm reading, the very similar species also hybridize periodically which makes things even more confusing.

 

[ShadowBass]

Sorry for all the posts. I'm not as experienced at identifying sculpin as I am something like sunfish (and afterall there are a lot more variants to this genus than Lepomis). So I'm learning somewhat as I go along (and without the ability to count fin rays in person, or make measurements, it makes it somewhat harder also).

You may actually want to post on nanfa.org as they're alot better at it.

But some tips on helping me or others ID:

Take pics that show clearly each set of fins extended (anal fin extended, pectoral fins extended, both dorsal fins extended, caudal(tail) fin extended, and pelvic fin extended. All do not have to be extended at the same time, but try to get pics of each.
You notice the bottom fish I was more definitive about. It's because I can see more of his fins extended.
In the top pic nothing is visible other than the pectorals, and not in great detail, which makes positive ID impossible.

Try to get pics when the fish are strongly patterned.

Try to get pics of the lateral line (I know this can be hard in aquarium pictures).

Identifying something like a sculpin is nearly impossible, even sometimes for icthyologist, just based on pictures that don't show much other than color and some slight pattern.
Keep in mind that ichthyologists sometimes have trouble positively IDing sculpin in person when they know what they're looking for.