Northern Red Belly Dace

Dorothy Perdeson has identified Northern Red Belly Dace, an unusual species, in Silver Lake.

The Northern redbelly dace can be found in cool, quiet, boggy streams and lakes. The typical habitat conditions of small streams where the dace lives include: water supplied by clear, cool springs or seeps, absence of strong currents, effective cover like undercut banks and heavy brushy vegetation, and minima large piscivorous fish populations. Small lake habitats also share these characteristics. Typically the lakes are clear and spring-fed with heavy vegetation (at least by shore) and few predatory fishes.

In states where it is vulnerable or endangered, such as Minnesota, it can only be found in extreme head waters of clear streams and spring-fed seepage pools. These locations provide a cold water habitat much like the conditions 1,000 years ago with glaciers to the north. Human activities have led to the reduction of cold-water streams and seepage, which reduces the suitable habitat for this Northern specie.

Another reason why our little lake is special.