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Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing daces. There are many fish groups with the common name "dace'' and they're not all closely related. This video is focused on the fish from the carp family known as daces, but they're also called minnows, chubs, shiners, and more depending on the regional dialect. The name "dace" is believed to be rooted in the Old French word for dart and is an allusion to the fish's speed. If you've ever stood at a stream or lake side and startled away the small fish in the shallows, you've probably seen this swiftness in action!

The two major dace groups are the European daces and the North American daces. These fish are typically found in fast moving water systems such as creeks and rivers; the North American species also inhabit bogs while the European daces can enter brackish water. Daces are often described as smaller than chubs with less vibrant fin colors. That doesn't mean they're all just silver or brown though! The family that most daces are classified in is one of the largest vertebrate families in the world, so there's plenty of diversity. The general dace body shape is long and narrow. They have a single dorsal fin and anal fin which are described as concave along the edges, as well as a deeply forked tail fin.

Daces are often silver but they display a variety of colors, especially males during the breeding season. To show off to the females, male daces take on bright hues of red, pink, and other flashy colors. These fish spawn in freshwater with females producing thousands of eggs that are fertilized externally by the males. The eggs are sticky and adhere to the streambed where they develop for about a month before hatching. This varies by species, however. Daces tend to stick together in large shoals and can live about a decade. 

Although daces max out at about a foot (30.5 cm) long, they're still caught by some anglers. They're used as bait fish but also give good sport for their elusive and shy nature. European daces are larger than North American daces who only reach about half a foot long at max size. Apart from humans, these fish are eaten by larger fish, especially when young, as well as other fish predators such as wading birds and fast moving mammals. 

In turn, daces are omnivores consuming both plant and animal material within their habitat, as well as detritus. These fish often take food from the riverbed, but they'll also munch on floating insects such as the eggs and hatchlings of flies– they help reduce mosquito populations! Daces also eat seeds and other aquatic plant parts. They generally prefer shaded areas where they're safer from watchful eyes but also where opportunistic morsels can fall into the water! 

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