The Minnow Family - Cyprinide consist of a group of fishes including carp, shiners, dace, and chubs. Minnows posses these certain features in common:

• Soft rays in their fins.
• Toothless jaws with teeth only in the throat region.
• Cycloid Scales.
• The pelvic fins abdominal in position.
• The head is scaleless.

Minnows are usually small, most species grow to be about 3" to 6" inches long. Some species however, such as the carp grow very large ( The Record Carp Weighed 32lb 0 oz, caught at Lake Powell By Couger Elfervig).

Utah is home to the largest minnow in North America, the Colorado Squawfish. Some have been reported as long as 6 feet and weighing in at 100 pounds!

Smaller minnows constitute a big part of the predatory game fishes diet. They play valuable role in the natural predator-prey population cycle that occurs for aquatic organisms. Some species of this family have become over abundant and are detrimental to game fish and their habitat.