Carassius auratus (Linnaeus), goldfish. Station 4-S.
I saw goldfish seined from Station 4-S by anglers obtaining bait on April 20, 1957. Goldfish were commonly used for bait at Stations 4-S and 54-S.
Semotilus atromaculatus (Mitchill), creek chub: Evermann and Cox (1896:399); and Jennings (1942:364) as Semotilus atromaculatus atromaculatus (Mitchill). Stations 5-G, 7-G, 10-G, 11-G, 12-G, 13-G, 16-G, 17-G, 18-G, 23-G, 24-G, 27-G, 28-G, 29-G, 31-G, 32-G, 33-M, 34-M, 36-M, 37-M, 40-M, 46-M, 47-M, 48-M, 49-M, 50-S, 53-S, 54-G, 55-M, 56-S, 57-M, 58-G, and 59-G.
Creek chubs were found in all habitats in the Big Blue River Basin, but were abundant only in the headwaters of muddy streams and in clear upland creeks.
Chrosomus erythrogaster (Rafinesque), southern redbelly dace: Jennings (1942:365). Stations 11-G, 12-G, 13-G, 16-G, 27-G, 29-G, and 53-S.
This colorful species occupied the headwaters of the clear, spring-fed creeks where it was abundant. Only one specimen was taken in muddy or sandy habitat (at the mouth of a small creek at Station 53-S), where it may have been washed by floods just prior to my collecting.
Hybopsis storeriana (Kirtland), silver chub. Station 3-S.
One specimen of H. storeriana (KU 3810) was seined in swift water near a sandbar on April 6, 1957, and another was taken at the same locality on April 26, 1958.
Hybopsis aestivalis (Girard), speckled chub: Meek (1895:137); and Evermann and Cox (1896:409), both as Hybopsis hyostomus Gilbert. Stations 3-S, 4-S, 14-S, 25-S, 38-S, 39-S, 50-S, and 56-S.
This species was restricted to wide, swift parts of the Big Blue and Little Blue rivers, and was found over clean, sometimes shifting, sand bottoms. On May 29, 1958, three males in breeding condition were collected and on June 16, 1958, a large series of both male and female H. aestivalis, all with well-developed gonads, was collected. The water temperature was 77.0° F. Hubbs and Ortenburger (1929:25-26) reported that Extrarius tetranemus (Gilbert) (= Hybopsis aestivalis tetranemus) spawns in summer especially in early July. Cross (1950:135) reported a single pair of H. a. tetranemus that he considered in breeding condition on June 9, 1948.