Shorthead redhorse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Shorthead redhorse |
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| Shorthead redhorse (Moxostoma macrolepidotum) | |
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The shorthead redhorse (Moxostoma macrolepidotum) is a type of fish found across North America. It lives in central and eastern parts of the continent. This fish can be found in many places, from small streams to large rivers and lakes. It usually stays near the bottom of the water, in an area called the benthic zone.
Shorthead redhorse fish eat small creatures without backbones, like insects, that live on the bottom. They also eat plants found there. When it's time to lay eggs, called spawning, these fish move to shallower streams. They lay their eggs over gravel or rocky areas. Sometimes, they spawn in springs where the water moves fast.
This fish is important to people because it's a game fish that anglers like to catch. It also helps the ecosystem by being food for bigger fish. For example, northern pike and muskellunge often hunt shorthead redhorse.
Some people call the shorthead redhorse by other names. These include "common mullet," "redfin," "redfin sucker," "red sucker," and "shorthead mullet."
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Where Shorthead Redhorse Live
Historically, the shorthead redhorse has always lived in North America. Its natural home includes the areas around the Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, and the Mississippi River. They also lived in the Saint Lawrence River basin. Their original range stretched from Quebec to Alberta in Canada. In the United States, they lived as far south as northern Alabama and Oklahoma.
Shorthead redhorse also lived along the Atlantic coast. Their range went from the Hudson River in New York down to the Santee River in South Carolina.
In the 1930s, the Tennessee Valley Authority built many dams to create electricity. These dams sometimes blocked fish like striped bass from swimming upstream to lay their eggs. While some fish populations have shrunk because of dams, the shorthead redhorse has actually spread out.
This fish is very adaptable and can handle changes in its environment. This means it can live in more places than some other related fish. Today, shorthead redhorse can be found in the tidal zones of the Hudson River. Scientists believe they entered the Hudson through the Mohawk River. They have now made a home in the Hudson estuary. You can also find them in the Embarras River system in Illinois. They are also in the Red River below the Lake Texoma dam in Grayson County, Texas.
How Shorthead Redhorse Live
Shorthead redhorse can live in many different places. They are fresh water fish. You can find them in streams, lakes, and rivers. They can live in clear water or water that is a bit cloudy. They prefer areas with loose gravel and sand on the bottom.
These fish are bottom feeders. They like to eat in fast-moving parts of rivers called riffles, or along their edges. One study in Illinois found that shorthead redhorse eat about 60 different kinds of food. Most of their diet is made up of small creatures without backbones. They eat more insects than any other fish in the sucker family. They can also eat tiny crustaceans and plant material.
Bigger fish hunt shorthead redhorse. Young shorthead redhorse can be eaten by northern pike, walleyes, and smallmouth bass. Adult shorthead redhorse are hunted by northern pike and muskellunge. Shorthead redhorse do not usually compete with other fish for food. This is because they eat so many different things.
Humans can affect where shorthead redhorse live. Dams block rivers, which can stop these fish from swimming to their spawning areas. Shorthead redhorse are also easily harmed by pollution in the water. For example, pollution from sewage can reduce how far upstream they can travel in a river. Factories sometimes dump chemicals into rivers. These chemicals can settle on the bottom. Since shorthead redhorse eat from the bottom, they can swallow high amounts of these chemicals, which can make them sick or even kill them.
Life Cycle and Reproduction
The shorthead redhorse spawning season happens from March to June. The exact time depends on where the fish live. For them to spawn, the water temperature needs to be between 7 and 16 degrees Celsius (45 to 61 degrees Fahrenheit).
Shorthead redhorse spawn once a year. They travel either upstream or downstream to reach their spawning grounds. These areas are usually smaller rivers or streams. They do not travel very far to get to their spawning spots. They lay their eggs in shallow areas, often at the edges of sand bars or in riffles over gravel.
During spawning, a female fish can lay anywhere from 18,000 to 44,000 eggs. It can take 2 to 6 years for a shorthead redhorse to become old enough to reproduce. In colder northern areas, fish tend to grow slower than in warmer southern areas.
The average lifespan of a shorthead redhorse also changes with location. In northern places with cooler water, they can live for about 20 years. A typical adult fish is 12 to 18 inches (30 to 46 cm) long and weighs 2 to 3 pounds (0.9 to 1.4 kg). Some can grow up to 25 inches (64 cm) long and weigh 6 pounds (2.7 kg). However, in warmer southern areas, like the Kankakee River, they might only live for 6 or 7 years.
As mentioned before, dams have not greatly reduced the number of shorthead redhorse. But they can still affect them. Dams block the paths fish use to migrate to their spawning areas.
Shorthead Redhorse and People
The shorthead redhorse is becoming a popular fish for anglers to catch. Some people also catch them using bowfishing. The shorthead redhorse is said to taste good, but it has many small bones. This makes it less popular for eating in America. The meat also spoils quickly in warm weather, which makes it hard to transport.
Shorthead redhorse are very important in their ecosystems. They are a food source for larger game fish. If they are caught when small, they are often used as bait.
Humans affect the shorthead redhorse most through water pollution. Chemicals can build up in fish that feed near the bottom, like the shorthead redhorse. This is called Bioaccumulation. The current world record for a shorthead redhorse caught by an angler weighed 5 pounds, 6 ounces (2.4 kg). It was caught from the Prairie River in Minnesota, USA on May 4, 1988.
