Riverine Fish

Ohio is blessed with an abundance of water, but like all developing areas, past and present land use practices affect our water resources.

Land uses that allow soil to runoff into our waterways cause silting of streams and increased turbidity, which can result in a lower quality of water and thus a loss in the diversity of aquatic organisms.

Fish have specific habitat requirements, thus the health of a fish community can tell us a great deal about the quality of the waterway where they reside.

Riverine Fish of Ohio's Scenic Rivers

Central Mudminnow (Umbra limi)

Central MudminnowA species restricted to the glaciated regions of Ohio, the Central Mudminnow is a physostomous (meaning able to breathe atmospheric oxygen) species belonging to the family Umbridae.

The mudminnow is a resident of undisturbed sections of streams characterized by clear waters with low gradients, substrates composed primarily of organic debris, muck, peat, and dense aquatic vegetation.

They may also be found in old oxbow pools, springfeed pools, glacial lakes, and in older beaver impoundments.

The presence of a soft, mucky substrate is vital to the mudminnow because it buries itself in the stream bottom to escape predators and aestivate during droughts. Numerous populations have been extirpated as a result of dredging, channelization, and ditching projects which have altered or destroyed their habitat.