The Kanawha minnow is an insectivorous fish, plucking its prey from amongst the stones on the river bed (4). The young fish prefer to eat the larvae and pupae of some flies, mayflies and caddisflies, while adult Kanawha minnows also feed on small tubeworms and water snails (4). It appears to feed mainly at night or at dawn and dusk, perhaps to allow it to avoid predators by hiding during the day (4).
Although breeding in the Kanawha minnow has not been observed, it is thought that it has a primitive spawning mode much like other minnows, releasing eggs and sperm directly over the river gravel (6). The eggs are fertilised by the sperm, settling amongst the stones or being washed further downstream, and are not protected at all by the adults (2) (6).