Click on the fish below for a detailed view.

Redside Shiner
Richardsonius balteatus

What do redside sShiners look like? Redside shiners are named for the way the males look when spawning: they have very bright, shining red and gold sides. They are thin fish, with a clearly forked tail, and an interesting dorsal fin that is set much further back than most fish.

Where do redside shiners live?

Redside shiners live in lakes, ponds and slow rivers almost anywhere west of the Rocky Mountains. In British Columbia, they are common in the Columbia Basin, but there are none at all in the Flathead River system. They were introduced to many interior lakes as a food fish for rainbow trout, only to discover that they were very competitive with local species. Shiners like shallow water during the day, and retreat to deep water at night and during the winter.

Food for Thought… the government has tried to get rid of the redside shiners that were introduced to interior lakes. Why? If redside shiners eat more and grow and breed faster than other species of fish, what might happen to the lake?

What is the life-cycle of the redside shiner?

Redside shiners are social fish, often living in schools of thousands. When they are three years old, they will spawn in groups of about thirty fish in the late spring and early summer. The females lay sticky eggs onto stream and river bottoms throughout the season.

Did you know that … one of the greatest risks to redside shiner eggs are their own parents.