Order:	Cypriniformes
Family:	Cyprinidae
Genus and species:	Phoxinus phoxinus

William Yarrell (1836) in "A History of British Fishes":

THE MINNOW, MINIM, OR PINK.

Leuciscus	phoxinus,	Cuvier, Règne An. t. ii. p. 276.
"	"	Minnow,	Flem. Brit. An. p. 188, sp. 68.
Cyprinus	"	Linnæus. Bloch, pt. i. pl. 8, fig. 5.
"	"	Minnow,	Penn. Brit. Zool. vol. iii. p. 489.
"	"	"	Don. Brit. Fish. pl. 60.

THIS very prettily marked species, one of the smallest of the British Cyprinidæ, rarely exceeding three inches in length, inhabits many of the rivers, brooks, and canals in England; it is also common in the Waters of Leith : it is generally found in the same streams with Trout, preferring gravelly bottoms, and swimming in shoals. In its habits this little fish is active and amusing ; many persons have tried how long they could keep them in confinement, but none have succeeded in preserving them beyond three years. Its food consists of aquatic plants, worms, and small portions of animal substance. A writer in the fifth volume of Mr. Loudon's Magazine of Natural History relates that, crossing a brook, he "saw from the foot-bridge something at the bottom of the water which had the appearance of a flower. Observing it attentively," he proceeds, "I found that it consisted of a circular assemblage of Minnows : their heads all met in a centre, and their tails diverging at equal distances, and being elevated above their heads, gave them the appearance of a flower half-blown. One was longer than the rest ; and as often as a straggler came in sight, he quitted his place to pursue him ; and having driven him away, he returned to it again ; no other Minnow offering to take it in his absence. This I saw him do several times. The object that had attracted them all was a dead Minnow, which they seemed to be devouring."
The Minnow is very prolific, spawning in June: at that time the head is covered with small tubercles : the young are soon alive, and I have taken them three-quarters of an inch long by the first week of August.
A detailed account of many particulars interesting to the naturalist relating to the habits of this species when spawning will be found in the fifth volume of the Magazine of Natural History, page 681.
A gravelly spot was chosen ; each female was attended by two males, one on each side ; several ova, nevertheless, it appears, escape fœcundation, which the writer believes takes place at the moment of exclusion : the ova that received the influence of the male were obviously different, when examined under a microscope, from those that were unimpregnated : the membrane forming the investing capsule was more tough, and resisted injury longer, not breaking down so easily when touched: some attempts at artificial impregnation did not succeed. The spawning season with them is short, seldom exceeding two or three days, and the eggs become young fish in a very few days afterwards. The young Minnows are quite transparent, except the eyes, which are large : in this state the larvæ of the angler's May-fly, and other ephemera, were their greatest enemies, and the diminutive fry seemed to be perfectly aware that they owed their safety to concealment ; when exposed they immediately buried themselves again in the gravel.
The Minnow affords amusement to young anglers, biting readily at a small piece of a red-worm : it is principally used as a bait for Pike, Trout, and large Perch. The flesh is considered of good flavour, and when a sufficient quantity can be obtained, for which a small casting-net affords the best chance, they make an excellent fry.
The terms Minnow and Minim are said to be derived from the Latin in reference to the small size of the fish : they are called Pink on account, probably, of the bright red colour that pervades the belly and under parts in summer.
The length of the head compared to the length of the head and body, without including the caudal rays, is as one to four ; the depth of the body not quite equal to the length of the head ; the body elongated and slender ; the dorsal and ventral outline but slightly convex ; the surface smooth, covered with numerous minute scales ; the lateral line straight from the tail as far as the plane of the origin of the ventral fin, then rising gradually to the upper edge of the operculum. The dorsal fin commences half-way between the anterior edge of the eye and the end of the fleshy portion of the tail : the rays of this fin and those of the anal fin partake of the character of the rays of the Cyprinidæ generally, in the first ray being short, the second the longest of the fin, both simple, all the others articulated and branched. The anal fin commences in a line under the origin of the last dorsal fin-ray ; the tail rather large and forked, the outer rays being double the length of those in the centre. The fin-rays in number are -

D. 9 . P. 16 : V. 8 : A. 9 : C. 19.

The top of the head and back are a dusky olive, mottled, and lighter in colour on the sides ; the belly white, and of a fine rosy or pink tint in summer, varying in intensity according to the vigour of the fish ; the irides and gill-covers silvery : dorsal fin pale brown ; pectoral, ventral, and anal fins lighter; the tail light brown, with a dark brown spot at the base of the caudal rays.

Frank Buckland (1880) in "Natural History of British Fishes":

MINNOW.

(Cyprinus phoxinus. Leuciscus phoxinus)

Local names: Baggie, Baggit Banny, Jack-barrel, Jack-Sharp, Meaker, Meugy, Mennam, Mennad, Mennard, Mennot, Mennous, Menuse, Minim, Minnis, Minnon, Minnow, Minœ, Peer, Peuk, Pink, Shadbrid. French: Veron. German: Die Elritze Pfrille Maigrase, Rumpfen, and no less than twenty-five other names. Danish: Elritse. Italian: Sanguinerola.

THE Minnow, though small, is a regular dandy, and during his courting season is got up in the most gorgeous style of uniform. Ladies who are clever with the paint brush wilt find a novel and most resplendent model in the minnow, but he will not keep his beautiful colours very long.
The minnow is a very particular fish about the water in which he lives ; it must be clear and rapid. He is a vegetable feeder, and also eats insects and worms. The minnows in the Itchen, at and about Winchester College, are very handsome fish, and thrive very well in this chalk water. The abundance of minnows is one reason why the trout are so good. We boys at Winchester never fished for minnows with rod and line, but a net called a minnow net. This net may be thus described ; a fine-meshed net is fastened nearly flat to an iron hoop about 2 feet in diameter, in the middle is fastened a perforated bullet and a piece of red cloth ; three strings run off from the ring and join together about 2 feet away from the hoop ; a longer line is attached to this and also to a pole, say 8 feet long. The net is dropped into the river, the minnows are attracted by the red cloth and the net is raised quickly by means of the pole. Glass bottles used as traps for catching minnows have been invented, and are to be bought at the fishing-tackle shops. This mode of quasi-incipient sport is a capital plan to enter, as masters of foxhounds have it in speaking of their young hounds, the noble sport of fishing. minnows are not at all bad eating ; they are very good simply fried as whitebait, or else pickled.
It appears that William of Wykeham, founder of Winchester College, was accustomed to have minnows served at his table. Thus at a dinner which the bishop gave on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 1394, to the King and Queen, 210 guests were present, the dinner costing £385 of our present money. Many kinds of fish were served, and no less than 7 gallons of minnows, costing eleven shillings and eightpence. I should not be surprised if these minnows acted as the whitebait of the period.
In the report of the Imperial Society of Acclimatisation, 1867, vol. iv. p. 719, is a very able paper on the minnow by M. Saubadon, who breeds large quantities of them for food crevette, trout, and young salmon. M. Saubadon breeds them artificially thus. The minnows spawn on fine days at the end of April or in May, and always on the same piece of ground. They assemble on the spawning ground in vast numbers. The minnows, having been caught quickly with the net, must be taken, the female in one hand and the male in the other. By a slight pressure the eggs and the milt will then come out of the fish ; the water then must be gently stirred with a feather. In fact, the operation of impregnating the minnow’s egg artificially is the same as that for salmon eggs. The eggs when properly fertilised should be hatched out in boxes, as used for salmon eggs, or else placed in a box perforated with holes, and placed in a running stream, so that the water should flow gently through the box. M. Saubadon tells us that a more simple way of getting minnows’ eggs is to search the spawning beds of the minnows after they have done spawning. It is a mistake to suppose that these eggs are disseminated and washed away by the current among the gravel and stones.
He says that the eggs, which are very small, will be found sticking adherent one to the other in the interstices of the stones, and that sometimes one finds masses from about 2 inches in width and 8 inches in length.
On May 30th he collected from off the minnows’ spawning beds at least six pounds of minnows’ eggs. He has no hesitation in robbing the minnows’ nests, as these eggs have many enemies, especially eels, ducks, and, shore-rats, who quickly find out the minnows’ nests, and clear out all the eggs. This process of breeding minnows artificially will be of the greatest possible service to our friends who are rearing salmon and trout fry, as the young minnows, as they are hatched out, will form a most valuable and nutritious food to the young salmonidæ.

Alwyne Wheeler (1969) in "The Fishes of the British Isles and North West Europe":

Minnow

Phoxinus phoxinus (Linnaeus, 1758)

NAMES Fr. Vairon; Du. Elrits; Ge. Elritze; Da. Nor. & Sw. Elritze.

IDENTIFICATION Small slim-bodied fishes with minute scales, short-based dorsal and anal fins (both fins being much the same size and shape), and with no barbels in the mouth. The lateral line is incomplete, ending in the region of the anal fin, although it may continue intermittently beyond this. Both dorsal and anal fins are rounded, the anal originating beneath the last rays of the dorsal. It grows to 5 in (12.5 cm); usually to not more than 3 in (8 cm).
The colour varies with the locality. Usually the back and sides are olive brown, with a rich golden sheen laterally fading to yellow on the belly. A series of rounded dark blotches on the sides are often fused into an irregular stripe.
Males are brilliantly coloured in the spawning season, when the background colouring is heightened, the belly becomes scarlet and the throat black. Males also have prominent white tubercles on the head, and smaller ones on the pectoral fins. The tubercles on the head are present, although much reduced, in females.
D. III/7; A. III/6-7; pharyngeal teeth in two rows of 2 + 5 or 2 + 4 each side.

BIOLOGY Minnows are found in most streams, some lakes, and (occasionally) ponds, particularly where there is a gravelly bottom, and clean flowing water. They are typical fish of upland streams, being found in the Alps to 6500 ft (1981 m), although also found in the smaller rivers of lowland plains. In summer they are pelagic and shoal near the surface; in winter they are found in deep water, and individually under stones. Spawning takes place over gravelly shallows or at the extreme edge of a ford, and lake minnows migrate to suitable near-by areas in feeder streams. Spawning takes place in large shoals from May to mid-July, the lowland populations mostly spawning in late May. The eggs are attached to the stones or drop into the loose gravel; they are small (1.5 mm diameter) and whitish, and hatch in four or five days. The alevins are from 4.2 to 5 mm in length on hatching, and absorb their yolk sac in thirteen or fourteen days at a length of 8 mm. Average growth has been estimated as follows; up to one year, 1¼ in (3.4 cm); in two years, 2¼ in (5.6 cm); in three years, 2¾ in (6.9 cm); in four years, 3¼ in (8.5 cm); in five years 3¾ in (9.6 cm) and in six years 4½ in (11.4 cm). Growth is, however, very variable with locality. Fish spawned early in the season mature in the first year, others in their second year.
The diet varies with the size of fish, the time of year and the food available. The diet of the young consists largely of Cladocera, copepods, rotifers, chironomid larvae, diatoms and filamentous algae. Minnows over 1½ in (4 cm) long eat many larger food items and are predators on insects and their larvae, principally Trichoptera, chironomids, Ephemeroptera, and surface or aerial insects, but they still eat diatoms, filamentous algae and higher plants. In winter the minnow generally feeds less, and in deeper water.
The minnow is an important inhabitant of our fresh waters, if only because of its abundance. It is widely preyed on by many fish-eating birds and mammals and also features in the diet of such fish as trout, pike, perch, chub and eels. In artificially stocked waters their presence in numbers may be detrimental because they compete with young trout for food, but in natural conditions it is doubt-ful if they do harm. The minnow is too small to be of much interest to the angler except as a bait, or to serve as food for man, although fried they make a very tasty dish, reminiscent of whitebait.

DISTRIBUTION

Eastwards through to U.S.S.R.