The Snail Darter

The snail darter is a historial little fish that caused controversy here in the south. The little darter like the vermillion is colored up nicely with many blotches that paint up it's little body on his/her back and have beautiful fins that blouse out on top of it's body and  to the sides. It gets no larger than 2- 3 inches in size. The small fish was known in 1975 to be endangered. Eventhough the little critter is endangered in many parts, it still finds it's way around fresh water to feed on snails.
It lays it's eggs in the sandy and rocky places along shallow water.  This is usually done from Febuary to April. The life span of adult Snail Darters usually is from 2 to 4 years.  There was quite some controversy in the 60's and 70's about the endangerment of the little fish due to the environmental needs on them.
You can find the little snail darters in  Paint Rock River in  Jackson County.  The snail darter is a pretty little fish that loves it's own business in the wild. It's an important part of the area's growth and should be kept in captivity to work with them.

Resources:

http://www.outdooralabama.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snail_darter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snail_darter_controversy
http://www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/fish/other/darters/snail/