Cyprinodon variegatus
A small, deep-bodied minnow logged mostly in Florida's shallows, comfortable from 15 to 28°C and seen year-round.
A small, chunky minnow around 6 cm, with a deep, laterally compressed body that looks almost too tall for its length. Colour runs silvery-olive to yellowish, often with faint vertical bars down the flanks, and breeding males can flush a brighter yellow or orange on the fins. Look for it hovering low over sand, mud, or seagrass in shallow, sheltered water rather than out on open reef.
Divers and snorkellers usually find it hovering or picking at algae and detritus over sand, mud, or seagrass in shallow, calm water. It's not shy exactly, but it tends to stay low and close to cover rather than approach, and sightings are logged as uncommon to rare even at its regular sites, so seeing one takes a bit of patient looking in the right shallow habitat. Most encounters happen during the day in calm, sheltered inshore water rather than on exposed reef.
It's remarkably tolerant of extreme conditions, able to handle wide swings in salinity, temperature, and oxygen levels that would push most other fish out of an area, which is part of why it turns up in marginal, brackish-ish shallow habitats other species avoid.
Sightings don't show a clear seasonal pattern, and its wide comfort range of roughly 15 to 28°C lets it tolerate both cool winter shallows and warm summer flats, so it's a fair year-round find where logged.
Almost all logged sightings come from the United States, with Florida by far the strongest region, followed by scattered records from Texas and the Northeast. Look for it in shallow, sheltered inshore spots such as seagrass flats, tidal creeks, and lagoon margins rather than offshore reef sites.
Mapping where Sheepshead Minnow is logged…
Florida is by far the most reliable place to find one, with additional records from Texas and the US Northeast. Look in shallow, sheltered spots like seagrass flats and tidal creeks rather than open reef.
There's no strong season in the data, and its wide temperature tolerance (roughly 15 to 28°C) means it can be found in shallow water throughout the year.
Look for a small, deep-bodied minnow around 6 cm long with a silvery-olive to yellowish body and faint vertical bars. It sits low over sand, mud, or seagrass in shallow, sheltered water rather than out on reef structure.
They're small, typically around 6 cm long, making them one of the smaller fish you'll notice in shallow inshore habitats.
It can survive extreme swings in salinity, temperature, and low oxygen that most fish can't handle, letting it live in marginal shallow habitats other species avoid.
Site and sighting data is aggregated from diver logs, iNaturalist and GBIF. For taxonomy and conservation status:
Soldierfish
3,621 sites
