Bait Identification Guide?

[Sinnian]

Does anyone have a great resource for identifying bait fish?  Our Maine IFW site has some good paintings of them http://www.maine.gov/ifw/fishing/species/identification/baitfish.htm

But they all look the same to me when I see them in my tank, real-life.

Google images was useless, because when I searched for a particular fish......well they were not all definitely what I had searched for.

As an example:



Two different fish, but when you have 100's in your tank or dozens in your trap, what is the best way to distinguish them?

I have a feeling that the top one is cannibalizing the bottom, but I am unsure how to go about id'ing them and separating the two.

Any ideas?

[DasRottweiler]

I run 2 tanks to keep the creekchubs, (top foto -pretty sure) and the common shiners , (bottom foto-also pretty sure!) separate, or the chubs will eat the shiners. We call creekchubs, "RiverRats" here. They are great bait, sturdier and easier to keep than most shiners, like goldens or common pond shiners. But they are carnivorous and will eat thier own as well.

[Sinnian]

DasRot,

What is an easy way to identify one from the other?  I seem to need to separate them.

[DasRottweiler]

I have a guide w/ pics -unfortunately my harddrive puked on that PC , and I am on my spare now.  I can`t access that harddrive until I install it in this PC. Found it online.

[1MOFISH]

the process of i. d. is really difficult most minnies are carnivorous except algae eaters ie suckerz and the like i had my tank cleaned out by the chubs and dace etc, shinerz are neutral as are fat headz. chubs are like little sharkz top picture as are stone cats and young of the year gamefish heres what happens by the end of the season you got a tub of huge pike and bass bait keep fillin your tub sooner or later the season will b e over i know ive been doin it for a longgggggggg time sorry
GOD bless
mo

[1MOFISH]

the process of i. d. is really difficult most minnies are carnivorous except algae eaters ie suckerz and the like i had my tank cleaned out by the chubs and dace etc, shinerz are neutral as are fat headz. chubs are like little sharkz top picture as are stone cats and young of the year gamefish heres what happens by the end of the season you got a tub of huge pike and bass bait keep fillin your tub sooner or later the season will b e over i know ive been doin it for a longgggggggg time sorry
GOD bless
mo

i was proved wrong again i threw a net full of pin minnies in mama pesce's frogs tank for his lunch and low and behold the goldfish ie comets started to attack them i guess i'll change my answer to if they got a mouth they will eat each other
GOD bless
mo