Fish
Brook Silverside
Labidesthes sicculus · also called brook silversides, skipjack
Startled by a passing shadow, a brook silverside skitters rapidly across the water’s surface in a series of quick skips, an escape technique distinctive enough that some anglers simply call the species a skipjack.
Overview
The brook silverside, Labidesthes sicculus, is a slender, nearly transparent fish native to clear lakes and slow-moving streams across a broad range of the central and eastern United States. Its distinctive surface-skipping escape behaviour, notably short single-year lifespan, and surface-oriented feeding style make it one of the more behaviourally distinctive small fish found in North American lakes and streams.
A fish that runs on top of the water
Rather than diving for cover like most startled fish, the brook silverside skitters directly across the surface itself, a rapid, skipping escape that turns the water’s top layer into an emergency runway.
Status
Least Concern — widespread and common across suitable clear lake and stream habitat throughout the central and eastern United States.
Brook Silverside: common questions
Why is the brook silverside also called a skipjack?
This species is capable of skittering across the water's surface in a series of rapid skips when startled by a predator or other disturbance, a distinctive escape behaviour that gives the species its alternate common name of skipjack, quite different from how most small fish simply dive or dart away underwater.
How long does a brook silverside live?
This species typically lives for only about a year, a notably short lifespan compared with many other small freshwater fish, completing its entire life cycle from hatching through breeding within a single annual cycle rather than surviving across multiple years.
How can you identify a brook silverside?
Look for a slender, elongated, nearly transparent body with a silvery stripe running along the side, an appearance suited to the species' habit of swimming and feeding near the water's surface rather than along the bottom like many other small fish.
What does the brook silverside eat?
This species feeds primarily at or near the water's surface, picking off small insects that land on the water or fly close to it, a surface-oriented feeding style that keeps it concentrated near the top of the water column rather than foraging along the lake or stream bottom.