This species will be viewable in our new Ridges to Rivers gallery, opening Spring 2023 in the River Journey building!
Almost exclusively distributed in the upper Tennessee River Drainage in Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia, this beautiful fish can be relatively common in the small streams where they occur. Tennessee Dace are one of many fishes that often spawn over nests constructed by the River Chub (Nocomis micropogon) an interesting form of commensalism found in southeastern stream communities. Like other members of the redbelly dace group, male Tennessee Daces develop bright breeding colors in the early spring with yellow fins and a red belly.
Range
Upper Tennessee River drainage
Habitat
gravel, sand and silt bottomed pools of spring-fed headwaters
Diet
algae, small aquatic insects
