Brook stickleback (Culaea inconstans)

Scientific name: Culaea inconstans Kirtland, 1840

The Brook stickleback (Culaea inconstans) is a freshwater fish of the family Gasterosteidae. In the aquarium it needs water at 4–18°C (39–64°F).

Brook stickleback care at a glance

Temperature: 4–18°C (39–64°F)

Biology

Diagnosed from other species of Gasterosteidae in Europe by combination of the following characters: 4-6 short dorsal spines, never inclined to the left or to the right; without keel on side of caudal peduncle; anal fin origin slightly behind dorsal fin origin; body dark olive green (getting blackish in breeding males), with numerous pale spots or undulating bars on flank.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name: Culaea inconstans
Family: Gasterosteidae (Sticklebacks and tubesnouts)
Order: Gasterosteiformes (Sticklebacks and Seamoths)
Class: Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length: 8.7
Common length: 5.0
Depth range: 0–55 m (0–180 ft)
Environment: Freshwater;; pH range: 7.0 - ?; dH range: ? - 15 demersal; depth range 0 - 55 m
Climate: Temperate
Distribution: North America: Nova Scotia to Northwest Territories and eastern British Columbia in Canada; Great Lakes-Mississippi River basins south to southern Ohio and Nebraska in USA and west to Montana, USA. Isolated population in Canadian River system in northeastern New Mexico, USA. Introduced elsewhere. Introduced in upper Inn drainage in Bavaria, Germany and accidentally in the 1960?s with Micropterus to southern Finland where it has established a population in Lake Lohjanjarvi.
Conservation status (IUCN): Least Concern (LC)
Threat to humans: Harmless
Uses: Aquarium: commercial; bait: occasionally
Resilience: High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (tmax=2)