Channel Shiner

Characteristics

The body is slender and slightly compressed laterally. The back is straw-colored while the sides are silvery, the belly is whitish, and the scales on the back have a light pigment edging giving the fish a cross-hatched look. The lateral band varies from distinct to faint among fish from different populations. The small, sub-terminal mouth is slightly oblique and no barbel is present. Hooked pharyngeal teeth on slender arches are found in an array of 4-4. Channel Shiners have dark pigment around the vent and base of the anal fin, which is absent or faint in the Bigmouth and Sand Shiners. This shiner has a poorly developed or absent mid-dorsal stripe. Infraorbital canals are complete in the Channel Shiner, but interrupted in the Ghost Shiner. Dorsal and anal fins have 8 rays and are rounded, as opposed to curved in the Ghost Shiner. Pectoral fins have 12 to 15 rays, and the pelvic fin has 9 rays. A complete, elevated lateral line has 33 to 38 scales with a spot above and below each pore. Channel Shiners have between 33 and 36 lateral line scales, and they are elevated about 2.5 times as high as wide. This fish is similar to the Mimic Shiner, and they were previously deemed to be two sub-species of the same species.

Distribution

Only in the forested areas of northeast Iowa, and almost exclusively in the Mississippi River. It reaches its greatest numbers in Pool 13. It is rare in Iowa's interior waters, being documented only twice, once in Buffalo Creek in northeast Iowa and once in Elk River.

Foods

Schools of Channel Shiners feed at mid-depth in river habitats on insect larvae, terrestrial insects and zooplankton.

State Record

State Records are not documented for non-game species.

Expert Tip

None

Details

Channel Shiners live in the open channels of large rivers, and can be found sometimes in the mouths of tributaries. They can be found in pools with little to moderate current, over a substrate of silt, sand, or gravel. In Iowa, Channel Shiners prefer moderate to swift current over sand bars or spoil banks. 

Spawning occurs in late May through June. Adults reach 3-inches long.

Recent stream sampling information is available from Iowa DNR's biological monitoring and assessment program.

Sources:

Harlan, J.R., E.B. Speaker, and J. Mayhew. 1987. Iowa fish and fishing. Iowa Conservation Commission, Des Moines, Iowa. 323pp.

Loan-Wilsey, A. K., C. L. Pierce, K. L. Kane, P. D. Brown and R. L. McNeely. 2005. The Iowa Aquatic Gap Analysis Project Final Report. Iowa Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Iowa State University, Ames.

Photo credit: Photo courtesy of John Lyons, University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Limnology