Spotted sucker

The spotted sucker inhabits deep pools of small to medium rivers over clay, sand or gravel.

Limited knowledge of the occurrence, abundance, and natural history of this species has been an impediment to status assessment and the determination of need for conservation measures within this family.

They are widely found throughout the central and southeastern United States and reach southern Canada.

[4] It is found in the lower Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins from Pennsylvania to Minnesota and in Atlantic and Gulf Slope drainages in North Carolina to western Texas.

The spotted sucker prefers clean, clear bodies water with a firm substrate.

The spotted sucker begins to ingest organic matter once they reach approximately 25 millimeters.

At about 50 millimeters Minytrema begins to feed on the substrate and benthos and sand become part of the stomach contents.

Spotted suckers primarily feed upon organic fragments, copepods, cladocerans, and chironomids.

Human activities have caused for the streams that Minytrema lives in to become silted, thus making it hard for them to survive.

The fish migrate upstream to smaller tributaries in January to spawn in riffles containing gravel substrates.

The eggs will hatch after seven to ten days[10] depending on the water temperature and will reach sexual maturation after three years.

While they generally taste pretty good to eat[tone], the flesh has a lot of bones making it difficult to clean them.