Description of Blacknose Dace
The blacknose dace is a small, slender minnow that grows to about three inches
long. They have the typical minnow’s short, single dorsal fin and a forked tail.
The back is light or dark-brown, or gray. The sides shade lighter, toward a
silvery-white belly. Sprinkled along the sides are dark scales that give the
fish a spotted appearance. The blacknose dace’s most obvious characteristic is
its black side stripe. The stripe runs from the snout through the eye, and along
the length of the side to the tail. At breeding time, the males also have a
rusty-orange or red stripe immediately below the black side stripe. In spawning
season, males also acquire pads on the upper surface of the pectoral fins, and
the pectoral and pelvic fins become yellow-white or orange. The blacknose dace’s
cousin, the longnose dace, grows up to five inches long and is reddish brown to
dark-olive, with scattered dark spots and a light belly. But it does not display
the blacknose’s prominent black “racing” stripe on its side.
long. They have the typical minnow’s short, single dorsal fin and a forked tail.
The back is light or dark-brown, or gray. The sides shade lighter, toward a
silvery-white belly. Sprinkled along the sides are dark scales that give the
fish a spotted appearance. The blacknose dace’s most obvious characteristic is
its black side stripe. The stripe runs from the snout through the eye, and along
the length of the side to the tail. At breeding time, the males also have a
rusty-orange or red stripe immediately below the black side stripe. In spawning
season, males also acquire pads on the upper surface of the pectoral fins, and
the pectoral and pelvic fins become yellow-white or orange. The blacknose dace’s
cousin, the longnose dace, grows up to five inches long and is reddish brown to
dark-olive, with scattered dark spots and a light belly. But it does not display
the blacknose’s prominent black “racing” stripe on its side.
Blacknose Dace
![Picture](/uploads/1/9/7/0/19701521/1771199.jpg)
This minnow was caught in a minnow trap, and the bait was a can of dogfood inside of the trap. Caught in Piney Creek, NC