The species may have aesthetic or scientific value. The fish has not been taken in pool habitat or in gravel runs lacking in boulder habitat. Most of the habitat associated with the lower watershed where the fish exists is rural with only scattered housing. However, a tributary to the Elk River, Richland Creek, flows through a small city. Pasture and grazing are the prime use of cleared farm lands, but some row crops, primarily corn, are grown.
Forest parallel most river sections and some second and third growth forests exist.
The food habits of this species are unknown. Recovery potential is low because much of its former habitat is impounded, but reclassification to threatened may be possible if a population can be established in Shoal Creek, Lawrence County, Tennessee. No additional data available. The species was extirpated from most of this area by the impoundment behind Wheeler and Wilson Dams. The species' range in the Elk River was also reduced by Tims Ford Reservoir, which releases cold water into the Elk River.