Wisconsin Area Killifish Organization

Once again summer is upon us, with its baseball, yard work, beer, hayfever, free killifish, and the seemingly endless pursuit of an air conditioned space to occupy.

"But what," you may say, "Did someone say free killifish?" Free indeed for the taking, for yes, there are killies swimming about in Wisconsin waters, and while their pigmentation doesn't rival that of the African rivulins, nor

their finnage that of the South American annuals, they possess a beauty like that of a weathered barn perched on ancient glacial deposits, or fields of dew-covered daisies sparkling in the early morning sun. They are as subtle, as modest, and as unpretentious as the boughes of the finer milks of their native land. Reminiscent of ...

"So they look like minnows?" the reader will now be asking.

"Well yes." The author must, in all honest reply.

"How then are we to know them, these treasures of the upper Mississippi Valley, from the bait they disguise themselves as?"

There are only three species of the bloody things in the state, anyhow, so why not just learn to recognize them and use the rest of the soft-rayed fishes to catch Esocidae, or Centrarchide, or Percidae, or anything else that can be eaten or mounted. (In light of recent controversy within this club, I feel compelled to state that, while I personally consider mouting any fish to be an act of perversion of the most appalling sort, I would defend to the death the right of any club member to do it.)

_Fundulus diaphanus_ (Lesuer) - from "fundus" meaning "bottom"; "diaphanus" - "transparent", ranged in size from 2.0-2.5 in. and has a blunt snout sporting a small, oblique, dorsally opening mouth. Its dorsal fin origin is distinctly in advance of its anal fin origin and it lacks both a broad lateral stripe and a black tear-drop shaped blotch covering its eye, thus making it unique from other Wisconson killies.

The body is of a light olive coloration on the back and sides fading to a yellowish white ventrally. This is transversed by 12-20 narrow vertical bars of steel-gray on the sides. During spawning the male's dorsal fin may have a light green-gold irridescence (or not).

_Fundulus diaphanus_ is not found in the Lake Superior drainage of Wisconsin or in the unglaciated "driftless area" of the state, so please don't waste valuable vacation time looking for it there. It is most commonly caught in lakes and backwaters of medium to large streams in slow current and seems to like broad, sandy, shallows in close proximity to sparse aquatic vegetation. They like a water depth of 18-20 inches.

This is a sturdy, if unspectacular, aquarium fish that is neither difficult to feed or to spawn in the home aquarium. It breeds in a bottom mop and the eggs may be water incubated. Even when kept indoors, they seem to be more inclined to spawn in the spring.

It should be mentioned that, although this species is widely distributed throughout the notern part of the United States and some of southern Canada, the variety found in Wisconsin (as well as anywhere between western New York state and the Dakotas) is known as _Fundulas diaphanum menona) and can be recognized by the fusing of the bars on the caudal peduncle forming an indistinct lateral stripe. It is this trait that makes our form as much superior to those found elsewhere as our Wisconsin milk is to that produced in other states whose product is likely to be waxy. Good enough to put on corn flakes, but surely not something one would serve to an honored guest in our homes.

The type specimen of _F. diaphanus menona_ was collected in the area of Lake Menona where the Yahara River exits that lake. Madison area residents will recognize this as the south beltline area and have probably gotten caught in traffic jams within sight of this location.

This fish is commonly known as the banded killifish. The blackstripe topminnow, _Fundulus notatus_, is named for its spots (notatus = spotted) which are located mostly on its unpaired fins. The dorsal fin origin is located well behind that of the anal fin. This fish can be readily identified by the black stripe which runs from its snout to the base of its caudal fin. The back and sides above this stripe are olive, the sides and belly below this median stripe are of a creamy yellow hue. The male is further distinguished by numerous vertical cross bars along his flanks and by a yellow to khaki coloration in his dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins which are liberally spotted in dark rust red. The caudal, also, is spotted but lacks the color of the other fins. The branchiostegals are yellowish and the chin of a good male specimen sometimes shows a bit of steel blue-gray.

_Fundulus notatus_ is commonly found throughout southeastern Wisconsin but not often in quantity. D.N.R. records seem to indicate that this species has, for the past 50 years, actually been expanding its range into both the streams of southwestern Wisconsin and the upper Fox River drainage in Columbia and Marquette Counties. The latter expansion was probably made possible by flooding along the Portage canal which temporarily allowed passage to the Fox watershed from the Wisconsin River's drainage basin. This and the fact that this fish survives habitat damage well seems to indicate that _Fundulus notatus_ may exhibit a greater resistance to the effects of siltation, pollution and/or low dissolved oxygen levels than is common among killies.

This is supported by the highly scientifical studies I conducted about five years ago in which a tank of assorted native fishes was forgotten for an indeterminant period of time. At the conclusion of this waiting period, an odeous bacterial stew was discovered in a neglected corner of the basement which contained _F. notatus_ in a reasonable state of health. Having obtained the results of this experiment, I decided against further such research on the grounds ;that it is cruel, embarrassing, and smells bad. Having read those results, I would encourage you to refrain from this sort of experimentation also. Simply accept that this is a sturdy fish in the aquarium.

_Fundulus notti_ (Agassiz) was named for its discoverer, Dr. Nott and is usually referred to as the starhead topminnow.

Without a doubt, the most attractive of this state's native killies, _F. notti_ may be recognized by the black tear-drop shaped blotch that covers the eye. As in _F. notatus_, the dorsal fin origin is posterior of the anal fin origin but this is a slightly deeper bodies fish than is the blackstripe. The back is tan blending to light yellow ventrally which is overlaid by a series of red to rust colored spots which are alligned to form 7-8 horizontal stripes running from the oprital to the caudal peduncle. The male of this species has rust red spots in all his unpaired fins as well as 11 or 12 narrow vertical bars along his flanks. The male's fins are considerably longer than those of the female, with the dorsal and anal almost touching the base of the caudal. In good light, a blue reflective color overlays this all. My first impression of this fish is that it looks a good deal like a deep-bodied _Aplochielous linneatus_.

Until 1980, the _F. notti_ complex was considered to contain five distinct species with a range that included Louisiana, eastern Texas, Alabama, northern Florida up the Atlantic coast to South Carolina, and up the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys to the south eastern tip of Minnesota. Recent revision by the Committee on Names of Fishes (Robins, et al 1980) has placed all varieties except _F. lineolatus_ in species with _F. notti_. Various geographic populations currently receive subspecies status. Ours is _F. notti dispar_.

_F. notti_ is most often found in quiet, shallow, backwaters over the heavy growths of submerged aquatic plants. The water is clear or slightly turbid. Reeds line the shore of their preferred habitat and the banks are often mucky. This is more of a pond or marshland fish than the other killies covered but can also be found in streams flowing through such waters if sufficient aquatic vegetation is in the stream. This is a fish which, in Wisconsin, is rarely collected and has been given endangered species status by this state. On can only hope that is rarity is at least partly attributable to difficulties in effectively collecting samples from mucky reed beds with dense submerged vegetation.

The most often blamed culprit in the demise of _F. notti_ is siltation caused by construction activities and the erosion of farm land. While it is certainly true that siltation can directly damage the gills of fish exposed to it for long periods of time, it is also possible that the dilitarious effects are caused by the choking off, and subsequent decay, of the aquatic plants that these fish are so closely associated with. The habitat of this fish is particularly susceptable to eutrification if disrupted and may be damaged by any number of possible conditions that might act as catalysts. Pesticide or herbicide run-off, silt, industrial pollution, acid rain, the filling of wetlands for agricultural or residential use, or who knows what else could be a causative agent or contributing factor in the destruction of this habitat. In any case, the plight of _F. notti_ is not helped by the fact that this is the northern limit of their natural range and the Wisconsin-Minnesota populations of this fish can be expected to be more heavily decimated by extreme weather conditions and would, even with ideal habitat, recover their numbers more slowly than more southerly populations might. There is a great deal of work that should be done concerning this fish anad its habitat and there may not be much time left in which to do it.

Besides its beauty, _F. notti_ possesses several traits that make it a fascinating fish. This killie is so stronly surface oriented that it will not dive even to escape predators and apparently has the ability to orient itself to the sun. This is said to be done through the use of its "pineal eye" (the star on its head). Reports exist of it being able to find and return to its "home shore" when released on the opposite shore of the pond in which it was captured and that this ability was diminished on overcast days. _F. notti_ is also said to, on occasion, jump on the bank to wait out the attentions of piscine predators before returning to the spot where it exited the water and that it had difficulty in returning to this spot in cloudy conditions. Sound almost like something a Rivulas might do, doesn't it? It would almost seem like a fish of such habits might not fare well near large populations of fish-eating birds. It would certainly be interesting to see any studies that might show the relationship between starhead populations and those of, oh let's say, kingfishers in a given location over the course of a couple of years.

The bad news is that this is, to the aquarist, forbidden fruit. It is against the law in Wisconsin to keep an endangered species without a permit and the penalties are substantial - ask Rick Ivik. It is not possible to obtain a permit from the D.N.R. to keep or breed these f;ish unless you are in the employ of the University or other state-funded organization - ask the official of your choice. Reliable sources tell me that that's irrelevant, anyhow, since even if a permit were issued, and your facilities were inspected and found to be satisfactory, there is a limit (usually 6) to the number of specimens of an endangered species that can be kept and that any successful breeder could breed himself into violation in a matter of weeks. Sounds sensible to me because I believe in lotsa laws and that's how come we call this "Killie Krap".

The D.N.R. is short of funds to carry out its own captive breeding program. They can't seem to be able to get anough scratch together to run a truck down to Illinois, or other location where _F. notti disar_ is in less trouble, and do a bit of importing to bolster populations in knowns sites wither. The excuse for this is that if the habitat is in danger, that any such importing operation would be futile and that, you guessed it, funding is lacking for studies to determine the suitability of the habitat already occupied by this fish. You can rest assured that they are concerned enough to arrest and fine those who try to produce some of these on their own time and with their own money though. Please don't let this happen to you.

While we, in our search for "tru enlightenment" on this subject, are gazing placidly upon the pure white light of infinite stupidity anyhow, we should also consider the fact that to collect or possess any of the aforementioned killies is illegal without a current Wisconsin fishing license since only fishermen have any valid reason to have "bait fish" in their possesison. If you have these fish with the intent of impaling them on a hook and dragging them around a lake until they are eaten by a "game fish" which you then kill, you are a "sportsman" and can get such a license. If your intent is to observe or breed or even dissect your killies, you are a "scientist" and can get a scientific collecting permit if you can prove that you work for some state organization and need specimens for study. If you just like to enjoy the beauty, or the breeding behavior, or the challenge of raising the fry of these fish, in the quiet of your own home, you are a "violator" and can probably get more time to pay your fine if you don't offend anyone official. Most of us violators just pretent to be sportsmen or scientists and don't talk much about it to anyone that we can't blackmail - unless we're "clean" at the time. Sounds reasonable to me...

Anyhow, all three Wisconsin killies are undemanding as far as the chemistry of the water they're kept in is concerned, although, as might be expected, they require clean, clear, and relatively cool water. Basement temperatures suit them well. They are better off in a slightly larger tank than killies are usually maintained in, 10 gal. being as small as I would be inclined to recommend, and are not fond of currents as strong as those produced by most power filters. If you use one of these units, the flow should be diverted either by use of a spray bar, or by using an undergravel filter plate connected by tubing to the filter's return outlet. As with all killies, a tight fitting cover is necessary to prevent "terminal dehydration syndrome," (T.D.S.) that is likely to affect individuals found upon the floor of the fish room. The diet of these, as well as most killies in the wild, consists mostly of insects, many of which are terrestrial, but white worms, daphnia, mosquito larvae, and of course, wingless fruit flies serve admirably in captivity. Most can be weaned over to flake foods in time and even puppy chow is well liked, according to some reports.

These are very pleasing fish to keep, not unduly difficult to maintain and, at the price, it is hard to understant why any killie keeper would hesitate to try them at least once. Collecting them is a pleasure in itself and develops skills in the use of the net that might come in handy should we ever find ourselves in the Cameroons, or Dar-es-Salam, or some similar place and need to replace the killies that the airline lost with the rest of our luggage.

If you have endured this article all this while, you must be interested in native killies and might enjoy the book by George C. Becker, _Fishes of Wisconsin_ which is published by the University Press. _Northern Fishes_ by Eddy and Suber is also very informative on this subject.

Reprinted with permission from "Tropical Topics", publication of the Indianapolis Aquarium Society, September 1987, pp. 7-11.