Tessellated Darter (Etheostoma olmstedi)

The tessellated darter (Etheostoma olmstedi) is a hardy species of darter that inhabits a wide variety of habitats on the east coast from the St. Lawrence River south to the St. Johns River in Florida. Tessellated darters are truly a “jack of all trades” relative to other darters in the sense that they’re adaptable to such a wide variety of habitats throughout their native range. These darters can be found over sand, rock, or mud bottoms and from the headwaters of clear, flowing streams to still lakes, swampy drainages, and low-salinity portions of tidal estuaries. They are more tolerant of poor water quality relative to other darters and can withstand a wide range of water temperatures and parameters.  In my opinion their adaptability makes tessellated darters a good starter species for novice darter keepers and multi-species tanks. It is important to keep in mind that while this species is quite hardy, that is relative to other species of darters, and that extremes in water paramet