All fish / Leuciscidae

Red Shiner

Cyprinella lutrensis

Also known as red shiner, rainbow shiner, red horse minnow, sunset shiner, rainbow dace, plains red shiner, red finned shiner, レッドシャイナー, 红鳍银鲫, 红闪光鱼

Breeding males are a bright metallic blue with red fins and a pink-purple bar behind the head, while females are plainer silver. It is a tough, active minnow from North America, often kept in unheated tanks and biotope setups.

Care at a glance

Care level

Easy

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

6 cm

Temperature

10 to 25 °C

pH

6.5 to 8

Smallest tank

110 litres

Keep as

Shoal of 6 or more

Diet

Omnivore: flakes, small pellets, frozen bloodworm and brine shrimp, some plant matter

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

2 to 3 years

Water

Freshwater

Wild range

USA and northern Mexico: Mississippi basin west to the Rio Grande and Gulf Slope drainages

Breeding

It spawns in spring and summer, dropping adhesive eggs into crevices, on logs or over gravel, and males guard a small territory. Breeding in captivity is fairly easy if the fish are kept cool over winter and then warmed up.

Good to know

Males can nip and chase smaller or slow-moving tankmates when breeding. It is a damaging invasive species outside its native range, so never release it, and check local laws because some areas ban keeping or moving it.