Gilt darter

Percina evides

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 59–70°F (15–21°C)
pH: 6.5–7.5
Adult size: 3.5 in (9 cm)
Minimum tank: 29 gal (110 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Difficult
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Very rare
Origin: United States
Family: Percidae

Overview

The gilt darter is a bottom-dwelling North American native that needs cool, clean, fast-flowing water and high oxygen to do well. It is peaceful and tends to keep to itself, so give each fish its own patch of the floor with rocks and gravel to perch on. It rarely takes flake and should be fed live and frozen foods such as bloodworms, blackworms, daphnia and small crustaceans. Strong flow from a powerhead or generous filter turnover keeps it healthy. A tank of 110 liters or larger with a long footprint gives these active riffle fish room along the bottom.

In the wild

Gilt darters live in the rocky riffles of clean small to medium rivers across parts of the United States, where fast water tumbles over gravel and cobble. They are sensitive to pollution and warm, still water, which makes them a good sign of healthy streams. In the aquarium, recreate that riffle with a coarse gravel and stone bottom, brisk current and cool water between about 15 and 21 C. Keep the pH near neutral, from roughly 6.5 to 7.5, and hold oxygen high with strong surface movement.

Good to know

The gilt darter is a member of the perch family Percidae and grows to about 9 cm. Like other darters it lacks a working swim bladder, so it rests and darts along the bottom between short hops rather than cruising in open water. Breeding males flush with gold and blue-green color. It is a spring spawner that buries its eggs in clean gravel in flowing riffles, giving no parental care, and its home aquarium breeding is essentially undocumented.

Did you know

Like other darters, the gilt darter has little or no working swim bladder, so instead of floating it props itself on its fins and darts across the streambed in short, quick hops, which is exactly how the whole group earned the name darter.