Barred Fantail Darter

Barred Fantail Darter (Etheostoma flabellare)

The Fantail Darter is one of the more common and widely distributed of the 22 species of darters reported for Ohio.

The largest numbers of fantail darters are found in the streams along the glacial boundary and the Allegheny Front Escarpment.

They are largely absent from the Maumee drainage of northwestern Ohio and are generally scarce in the more mature entrenched streams not affected by glaciation in southeastern Ohio. They tend to inhabit the more sluggish riffles with moderate currents in water less than 18 inches deep, with substrates composed of gravel, flat rocks, and boulders. They reach their greatest levels of abundance in warm water streams and are less affected by most pollutants and siltation than other species of darters.

Fantails make an interesting addition to a freshwater aquarium. As Jordan and Evermann were quoted as saying at the turn of the century, "...darter of darters - hardiest, wisest, and wariest of them all and the one most expert in catching other creatures...".