Identification
The mouth is terminal and the lateral line incomplete. Breeding males develop head tubercles and a conspicuous soft pad on the nape. These seasonal features are stronger in mature males than in the pale, smaller fish often seen outside the breeding period.
Tolerant Habitat Use
Fathead Minnows occupy warm, turbid and sometimes poorly oxygenated waters. Their broad North American distribution has been extended by introductions. Tolerance of difficult conditions does not make every introduced population part of the native range.
Food and Egg Care
Algae and detritus are important foods. Males defend spawning cover and eggs, rubbing surfaces with the mucus-producing nape pad and dorsal fin. This active care is a distinctive part of the life history, despite the fish’s small size.
Notice the Breeding Male
The soft nape pad has a role in tending the spawning site. A dark, thick-headed male can look quite different from other fish in the same school.
All Lakes With Fathead Minnow
Browse lakes and reservoirs with documented Fathead Minnow records, listed alphabetically. Records do not establish current abundance or public access. Check the evidence and managing authority for the water you choose.
Showing 1–24 of 1,015 lakes · Page 1 of 43
- Acorn Lake Becker, MN
- Acorn Lake Becker, MN
- Agency Lake Klamath, OR
- Albert Lea Lake Freeborn, MN
- Alger Lake Lake, MN
- Amber Lake Martin, MN
- Amelia Lake Pope, MN
- Anderson Reservoir Blaine, MT
- Andrew Lake Kandiyohi, MN
- Andrusia Lake Beltrami, MN
- Anita Reservoir Blaine, MT
- Ann Lake Pope, MN
- Armstrong Lake St. Louis, MN
- Arrowhead Lake Hennepin, MN
- Artichoke Lake Big Stone, MN
- Assinika Lake Cook, MN
- Atlas Reservoir Valley, MT
- Badger Lake Polk, MN
- Badger Lake Polk, MN
- Bailey Reservoir Hill, MT
- Bainville RR Pond #1 Roosevelt, MT
- Bainville RR Pond #2 Roosevelt, MT
- Bald Eagle Lake Ramsey, MN
- Ball Bluff Lake Aitkin, MN