Fish ID - Ask Extension
Hi, we snagged a few of these fish out of a small local pond and put them in our yard pond. They are about an inch to maybe an inch and a half long. T...
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Fish ID #872107
Asked June 07, 2024, 3:45 PM EDT
Hi, we snagged a few of these fish out of a small local pond and put them in our yard pond. They are about an inch to maybe an inch and a half long. They look like they have little gold or yellow stripes on their back.
A lot of them are heavily pregnant and breeding in our pond. Would you be able to help identify? I know fish are really hard to identify. I was thinking Oregon chub, but I had heard that they were threatened or endangered.
Fish related but unrelated to these, can goldfish and fathead minnows mate? I think we might have a hybrid.
Lane County Oregon
Expert Response
Hi Sarah,
I can tell by the locations of the fins and the mouth of those fish that they are non-native fish called mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis or Gambusia holbrooki).
Here are a couple links to information about mosquitofish if you are interested...
https://www.dfw.state.or.us//fish/diseases/docs/backgrounder_WNV_gambusia.pdf
https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=846
About the potential for fathead minnows and goldfish to breed...
I don't know for certain, but generally animals that are not in the same genus cannot typically produce offspring. Fathead minnows are in the genus Pimphales and goldfish are in the genus Carassius, so it seems unlikely that they could produce hybrid offspring.
I can tell by the locations of the fins and the mouth of those fish that they are non-native fish called mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis or Gambusia holbrooki).
Here are a couple links to information about mosquitofish if you are interested...
https://www.dfw.state.or.us//fish/diseases/docs/backgrounder_WNV_gambusia.pdf
https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=846
About the potential for fathead minnows and goldfish to breed...
I don't know for certain, but generally animals that are not in the same genus cannot typically produce offspring. Fathead minnows are in the genus Pimphales and goldfish are in the genus Carassius, so it seems unlikely that they could produce hybrid offspring.
