Silverside ID

Brook Silverside
Labidesthes sicculus

Description: A silvery, pencil-thin fish having a pointed, beak-like snout with an oblique, upward turned mouth; a long, sickle-shaped anal fin; 2 widely separated dorsal fins; and a long, bright, silvery stripe lengthwise along each side. It is a non-native species that was inadvertently stocked when threadfin shad (another non-native species) were brought into the state for experimental prey stockings for open-water predators during the late 1970’s. It is adapted for life near the surface where it feeds primarily on insects (aquatic and terrestrial) and microcrustaceans (small zooplankton).

Family: Silverside
Type: Non-Game Fish
Range: Backwater areas of several streams/rivers and coves/calmer areas of several reservoirs.

References

The Fishes of Nebraska by Hrabik, et. al (2015)