The bright, flashing appearance of the golden shiner has made it popular with fishermen. Its body is deep, compressed laterally and covered with large gold- or silver-colored scales that are rather loosely attached. The loosely attached scales can create a problem when fish are harvested, graded and loaded, because when scales are lost, fish marketability is drastically reduced. The lateral line is curved downward, and there is a fleshy, scaleless keel just anterior to the anal opening. Females grow faster and reach larger sizes than males. In the southern United States, fish become sexually mature at 1 year of age or approximately 2 2 1/2 inches in length. Some have been known to live 8 years and attain a length of over 10 inches. Domesticated golden shiner broodstock is easier to handle than wild stocks which should be avoided.

The white sucker has fine scales and a slender body. The scales are small near the head, becoming larger near the tail. The dorsal fin is short. Both the dorsal and caudal fins are dusky to clear, while the lower fins are white and often tinged with yellow or orange. The lips are covered with small, wart-like bumps.

The back and sides are greenish with a brassy-silver luster shading to white on the belly. Breeding males are darker, nearly black above and white below with a pink band along the side. Small tubercles are present on the head and body but are best developed on the anal fin and lower lobe of the caudal fin. Dusky blotches are common on the sides of young white suckers

The fathead minnow has a cylindrically-shaped body, small scales and dull color. It has a light, dusky stripe along the midside from the head to the base of the caudal fin. The lateral line is incomplete.

Adult males grow larger than females. This characteristic may create a problem if a mechanical grader is used to select broodstock. Grading for large fish may result in a greater population of males. Breeding males develop dark coloration about the head and may exhibit dark vertical bands on their body. Numerous horn-like projections, called breeding tubercles, develop on the head of adult males during the breeding season. A pad also forms on the back just behind the head. This pad is used to prepare the nest site and care for the eggs. Sexual maturity is reached at one year of age.