What kind of fish is this?

[Laaf]

I thought I had 2 little dark skinny goldfish fry, under an inch long. But.......they don't act like goldfish, they hide and dart about and do not hang with the bigger fish. My only fry that survived from last year was out with the bigger fish when it was this size.

I was thinking they are some kind of minnow due to the stripes.

Do baby goldfish have stripes? They are fast little things. I have seen at least 2 near each other.

Then today, I was looking in my pond and one went by and turned, and the light hit it just right and I saw blue fins. I recall bright turquoise/indigo blue on the front fins. I was so surprised I forget where else it was blue, maybe some along the stripe. Sorry for the bad pics, they do not show the blue.

I am guessing there were hitchhiker eggs on some pond plants? Or could they be baby goldfish?

Thanks for any help.

 

[yorkshire pudding]

hi laaf, that looks like a zebra danio or something very similar

 

[mrsclem]

Definitely not goldfish. Guessing you have only golds in your pond? Did you bring plants in from a local waterway?

 

[Mmathis]

hi laaf, that looks like a zebra danio or something very similar

LOL, that was my first thought, as well! I remember having them as aquarium fish — impossible to catch.

 

[addy1]

I have a few of those in my herd, don't see very often but they do show up now and then. No clue where they came from.

 

[Laaf]

I did get plants at a local pond store and have no idea where they shipped them in from. They certainly (could have) had eggs on them. The pond store has goldfish and mosquito fish swimming around with their plants.

The zebra fish has more stripes than I see on this one. I only saw the blue when it was just right in the light. I will keep watching to see if it gets more stripes and more blue. I said front fins, but this pic looks the closest I can find online.

I found a picture online of a Bluefin Killifish that seems native to Florida. It is not a common fish, but the pic looks correct.

I kind of hope I happen to have a male and female.........they are cute.

 

[Laaf]

Hmmm, I found this pic claiming to be Gambusia online. It could be this too. Much less rare than the Florida killifish.

I am aware that my memory of the blue was the bright color, not exactly where it was.

 

[brokensword]

Those are minnows, l'm pretty sure, from your plant purchase. Had two in my basement turtle pond during the winter. A type of dace or shiner, if I remember correctly.

 

[Stephen Noble]

Agree with @brokensword, sure looks like a Creek Chub (Semotilus atromaculatus). Are you able to capture one and get a good side shot? Yeah I know, they don't just stop and say, "Here catch me" for a great photo! But it would really help. Over the years, I have enjoyed 'stowaways' as much as the fish or plants actually ordered.

 

[HARO]

I'm going with the Bluefin killies. Have had them show up in plant shipments in the past.
John

 

[brokensword]

I'm going with the Bluefin killies. Have had them show up in plant shipments in the past.
John

Hmmm, I found this pic claiming to be Gambusia online. It could be this too. Much less rare than the Florida killifish.

I am aware that my memory of the blue was the bright color, not exactly where it was.

View attachment 142164

try using 2 nets (one a chaser, one a netter) and get really good pics so we can find out exactly whatcha got!

 

[Laaf]

So hard to get a picture capturing the brilliant blue. Here is a slightly better one. But really does not capture the blue fins.

LOL to catching one of these fish! I have a slightly higher chance of eventually getting a good picture in better lighting to get the blue and full image. They are super fast and mostly hide or dart between cover. I see them eating on the algae on rocks and did see one with a goldfish pellet in it's mouth.

When I build a bigger pond, I plan to have a smaller area off of it that I can block off, to feed them in and lure them in if I need to catch fish. Perhaps with a waterfall and stream.

My second bog has already greatly cleared the water making these little fish more visible. Plus I gave away a big area of water hyacinths and water lettuce giving me a bigger "viewing window" to my fish. And I can now say there are at least 3 of these little ones. I can only tell if I see them all at once. They are so fast, that I lose them easily when I try to watch them. Plus they do have good camouflage colors and markings for blending in.

 

[Faebinder]

To me it looks like a Blackstripe Topminnow. I have some but i dont see the usual rhombus at the top. It could be a zebra danio.

 

[Laaf]

Good thought, it gave me a new minnow to read about. I don't see any pics of a topstripe minnow with the bright blue dorsal and lower fins though. And these little fish have some brilliant blue.