Luxilus cerasinus - Crescent Shiner

[Fish Folk]

Having become very fascinated these last several years with native north American fish (NANF), I am on a mission to select a most beautiful + most effective three-species tank arrangement that can, theoretically work for breeding, aesthetics, etc.

One species that I have not studied much is the Crescent Shiner (Luxilus cerasinus). In breeding colors, it is a stunner. Look at these photos and videos...

Man, just when you think you've seen it all . . . these fish are fantastic looking. Unfortunately, there are relatively few examples of them in home aquaria. I hope to learn why that is.

Their native range appears to be like this on the map:

 

 

Edited December 26, 2023 by Fish Folk

[nabokovfan87]

What a unique, amazing fish.  They are a great size and they seem to extremely unique... unlike anything I've seen before.

[Fish Folk]

Here is one shots from a home aquarium. Colors probably are dependent on (1) season of the year (2) water temperature (3) diet (4) spawning...

Typically, they are reported to look more regularly like this...

 

[Fish Folk]

I’m going to the Scientists with this one…

I may need to go fish-hunting in VA this spring…

[AquaHobbyist123]

Beautiful fish! While I have never kept them (except for warpaints), Luxilus shiners in general all look absolutely stunning in breeding colors. I hope to someday keep both Crescent Shiners, and Cardinal Shiners are also on my wishlist. 

[WhitecloudDynasty]

I normally catch a few every year and kept some before. They normally require a bigger aquarium due to their size and attitude. 

They can be a bully and with their bigger size, larger mouth ...smaller fish will get pick off. I believe my son have a small group growing outside in his tub. We may try to work with them if we had the space.