Spring Creek Coalition

Oklahoma has about 175 different species of fish. Unfortunately, most of these are unknown to the average person, even though they're some of Oklahoma's most unique and interesting residents. 1:57

Redspot chubs use only their mouths to construct large mounds and nests of rocks and shallow excavated pits. They are very aggressive towards other males chubs, but generously allow many minnow species to spawn on "their" nest.. 1:14

Cardinal shiners transform each spring from plain silvery minnows to strikingly handsome red and black striped ones. They often spawn on redspot chub nests. Despite their hardy appearance, they are actually very fragile and delicate. They cannot tolerate poor water quality and absolutely require cool, clean, clear water to survive .0:43

Male nesting longear sunfish are one of North America's most colorful fish and are tireless parents. They spend almost the entire summer either building a nest or guarding eggs and fry.

The male and female swim closely together in tight circles while depositing eggs in the nest. The flurry of activity towards the end of the video is a nest being raided while the male was distracted. Within seconds every nearby sunfish and chub rushed the nest and consumed nearly every fry. 2.48

Stonerollers are grazers and a keystone species in many streams. Their bottom lip has a hard scraper, and they spend most of their time scraping algae off the stream bed. They play a vital role in controlling filamentous algae growth in streams. 0:57