This dataset provides the survival, retention, and growth of Emerald Shiner Notropis atherinoides (EMS) tagged with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags and Arkansas River Shiner Notropis girardi (ARS) tagged with visible implant elastomer (VIE), PIT, and micro transponder p-Chip tags. Experiments were undertaken in the laboratory at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA July 2018-March 2020. Emerald Shiner was initially tagged as a surrogate for Arkansas River Shiner to reduce the usage of this federally threatened species; however, we suspected that Emerald Shiner was not a suitable surrogate for Arkansas River Shiner due to low recaptures in the first field season. Thus, Arkansas River Shiner tagging was conducted. The EMS experiment examined the survival, retention, and growth of Emerald Shiner tagged with PIT tags over 90 days. ARS experiment 1 examined the survival, retention, and growth of Arkansas River Shiner tagged with VIE and PIT tags over 120 days. ARS experiment 1 also examined the effects of anesthesia (tricaine methanesulfonate) use. ARS experiment 2 examined the survival and retention of PIT tagged Arkansas River Shiner with anesthesia and a reduced handling time (i.e., no weighing). ARS experiment 3 examined the survival and retention of micro transponder p-Chip tagged Arkansas River Shiner with anesthesia and a reduced handling time (i.e., no weighing). Four VIE tagging locations were examined in ARS experiment 1: 1) anterior to the dorsal fin (nape), 2) laterally adjacent to the dorsal fin (dorsal), 3) posterior to the dorsal fin (rear dorsal), and 4) on the caudal peduncle (caudal). All PIT tags were 8 X 1.4 mm full duplex (FDX) PIT tags (Oregon RFID, Portland, OR, USA) and were inserted into the peritoneum just posterior to the left pelvic fin. P-Chips were injected subcutaneously left of the base of the dorsal fin using a 0.8 mm diameter injection needle.