Unknown fish appeared in the pond? What is it and how'd it get there?

[Mr. Green Frog]

Saw something that at first I assumed was a frog, then thought it was an adult male minnow, but then noticed the color breaks and thought ?

For the record, I put about 3 dozen fatheads from a bait shop in last year, of which, about a dozen survived IIRC. Of that dozen, I now have hundreds of them. The largest adults are very difficult to spot due to hiding, but are about the size of a pinky or ring finger, and I've never fed them, so they want absolutely nothing to do with me. Other than frogs and the occasional toad mating, minnows are the only other inhabitants not including insects.

Whatever this fish in the video is, not only was it not fearful, it seemed to respond to my movement, even looking up at me, suggesting it's been hand fed at some point. If that's the case, then it's possible it some how got to my pond from my elderly neighbor's pond, but I have no idea how? She has this tiny kid pool-sized pond with I think small koi in it, but there is zero chance of them getting to mine on their own. It appears to be doing a figure 8 constantly, so dunno if that's mating or it's irritated?

 

[Mmathis]

Interesting, but I have no idea. Where do you live? Maybe it’s a native fish that was transported via plants or an animal that visited the pond.

 

[Lisak1]

The next door pond makes the most sense. Eggs can stick to the legs of a bird or another animal and get transported.

 

[Mr. Green Frog]

I'm in NE Ohio, so not native unless it's a mutated version of something else, although hard to say what "native" is anymore. Native used to mean bass, perch, bluegill, catfish, etc., but with non-native fish finding their ways into the ecosystem....

It's still under the rock doing a figure 8, so it might be spawning? Or maybe it's trying to attract another fish to the location? The minnows in the area are 100% ignoring it, but mainly only young minnows are in the area, the adults seem to prefer the deeper parts.


Any idea how the male or female goldfish or koi act in the absence of a mate, when ready to mate? Anyone know if either will do non stop figure 8's as part of a spawning ritual?

I could probably catch it, if a closer examination is warranted? It's probably 3" to 4" long, and a little plumper than the adult minnows.

 

[Jhn]

try to Catch it and take a pic, curious to see what it is. Goldfish and koi don’t behave that way, with or without a mate or during spawning.

 

[Mr. Green Frog]

Hmm. OK, I'll try.

 

[Mr. Green Frog]

No luck catching it but apparently it IS a male fathead minnow and it's trying to breed! This site Fathead Minnow Breeding Males has a few pics of breeding males that look like what I have. 99% of the visible minnows (large and small) are olive colored, so guess he's a 1%'r lol.

Really surprised he's the first one I've seen like that, especially considering how many minnows have come to be in a full year. The few dark colored minnows I've seen, have been more like streak on the sides and a light tinting of the scales. Not a full on black head with blotches on the body. What's strange is none of the females seem to be going over to him yet, and he's been doing a figure virtually non stop since first seeing him (at least 48 hours now) but given the leaves, he's trying to keep the area clean enough for a female to lay eggs.

 

[Lisak1]

Well, mystery solved anyway!

 

[Wayfarin]

Yeah, that's a male fathead minnow all right. The males change their color and appearance when breeding.
I love this species!

 

[DouglasMack]

Saw something that at first I assumed was a frog, then thought it was an adult male minnow, but then noticed the color breaks and thought ?

For the record, I put about 3 dozen fatheads from a bait shop in last year, of which, about a dozen survived IIRC. Of that dozen, I now have hundreds of them. The largest adults are very difficult to spot due to hiding, but are about the size of a pinky or ring finger, and I've never fed them, so they want absolutely nothing to do with me. Other than frogs and the occasional toad mating, minnows are the only other inhabitants not including insects.

Whatever this fish in the video is, not only was it not fearful, it seemed to respond to my movement, even looking up at me, suggesting it's been hand fed at some point. If that's the case, then it's possible it some how got to my pond from my elderly neighbor's pond, but I have no idea how? She has this tiny kid pool-sized pond with I think small koi in it, but there is zero chance of them getting to mine on their own. It appears to be doing a figure 8 constantly, so dunno if that's mating or it's download gta 5 mobile (100% working) – android?

is possible that the fish in the video is a hybrid or a different species altogether that was introduced to your pond unintentionally. It could also be that the fish has adapted to its new environment and has become more comfortable with humans over time.

It's also possible that the fish was introduced to your pond by a bird or other animal that may have picked it up from your neighbor's pond and then dropped it into yours. Alternatively, someone could have intentionally released the fish into your pond.

 

[Wayfarin]

is possible that the fish in the video is a hybrid or a different species altogether that was introduced to your pond unintentionally. It could also be that the fish has adapted to its new environment and has become more comfortable with humans over time.

It's also possible that the fish was introduced to your pond by a bird or other animal that may have picked it up from your neighbor's pond and then dropped it into yours. Alternatively, someone could have intentionally released the fish into your pond.

Nah, it's a fathead minnow, and probably one that Mr. Green Frog added to the pond. Sometimes fish do end up in ponds unexpectedly.
But male fathead minnows change their coloration and morph their appearance when spawning.
They may look like ordinary bait fish but there is more to them than it appears.
This is what the males look like when breeding.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/v7rQmCWjLVo/maxresdefault.jpg