ID this native please.
- Thread starter bigcatfan
- Start date
![20101001195748[1].jpg](https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/data/attachments/464/464101-4b414b74a71110f6cbf7305b49839fcf.jpg?hash=S0FLdKcREP "20101001195748[1].jpg")
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Looks like a bluegill to me, based mostly on the vertical stripes. Don't see anything that really screams out any other sunfish species either - ie redear/redbreast/green/etc.
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=juvenile%20bluegill&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1107&bih=674
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=juvenile%20bluegill&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1107&bih=674
i was just looking at the same google pics haha. yeah im in charlotte. im thinking bluegill or green. lke you said the stripes are making me lean to blugill
well i just found green sunfish juvi pics with vertical stripes.
www.aquariumlife.net/articles/native-fish/69.asp
www.aquariumlife.net/articles/native-fish/69.asp
Here's a key you can use to ID him:
http://bio.slu.edu/mayden/sunfish/sun_key/1.html
I think I found that link in another thread here originally, but not 100% sure.
http://bio.slu.edu/mayden/sunfish/sun_key/1.html
I think I found that link in another thread here originally, but not 100% sure.
It's definitely a bluegill. I'm 100% sure. I have caught thousands around that size for fish surveys in state parks. Look at them, and see if they have a faded black spot towards the end of their dorsal fin, that will say for sure.
But going by the bars, coloration, and head shape I say bluegill.
But going by the bars, coloration, and head shape I say bluegill.
Guess I can't edit posts yet ...
but let us know what you find out. I was reading the other day that the green sunfish are much more prevalent in first-order streams - ie the small feeder streams that don't themselves have any real tributaries. I guess green sunfish are actually not native to the area, and they've found a niche to exploit in the very small first order streams where there are limited predators, and not as many competitors for their food supply.
So if you know where they were caught, that might be another clue - the smaller the stream, the more likely it is to be a green sunfish, at least statistically.
but let us know what you find out. I was reading the other day that the green sunfish are much more prevalent in first-order streams - ie the small feeder streams that don't themselves have any real tributaries. I guess green sunfish are actually not native to the area, and they've found a niche to exploit in the very small first order streams where there are limited predators, and not as many competitors for their food supply.
So if you know where they were caught, that might be another clue - the smaller the stream, the more likely it is to be a green sunfish, at least statistically.