WHAT THE HECK IS THIS? mystery fish.

[bshockstubb]

hehe, i just let one go, i call them rock bass. it is illegal for LFS to sell them. They are native to the USA.(i caught mie while scuba diving in Lake Mead, NV) I think this is a pic of my old one.

 

[Opcn]

the body is symilar to a rockbass but I dont think the color is right. I've caught them before thought but theye were just refered to as a sunfish. Most sunfish are predators and they are closely related to bass just look at the dorsal finns of most north american game fish (not pike or salmonoids dummy) I'd say trust ryan here andone done a goole search yet? my ISP is crazy and google now takes like 3 mins to do a search for me but I'll do one. Ugh!

Opcn

 

[Opcn]

Hey check out the green sunfish Lepomis cyanellus (I looked at the redear and thats a big no)

heres a discription

Physical Description:
· Deep, compressed body
· Black opercular spot with a pale margin
· Very large, terminal mouth
· Large eye
· Tail fin lobes rounded
· Pectoral fin rounded
· Dark body with iridescent blue stripes
· Posterior base of dorsal fin with black spot

Similar species:
· Warmouth (Lepomis gulosus)
· Redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus)

Mean body size:
· Adults are 70-180 mm total length

Habitat:
· Slow pools, moderate-gradient streams and rivers

Distribution in VA:
· Tennessee, Big Sandy, and New drainages
· Introduced to the Atlantic slope drainages

Food Habits:
· Insects and fish

Reproductive Habits:
· Mature at age 1 or 3
· Spawning occurs late May through July
· Males build nests around vegetation
· Fecundity is 2,000-10,000 eggs per female per year
· Hybridizes with many other sunfish species

Other Common Names:
Shade perch, black perch, slicks, ricefield slick, mud bass, rubber-tail, bluespotted sunfish, pond perch, green perch, sand bass, sunfish


Identification:
Bluish green back and sides with white to light yellow belly; sides of the head mottled with emerald and yellow streaks; black ear flap has a whitish or yellowish margin; leading edges of the dorsal, anal and caudal fins typically whitish or yellow-orange

Habitat:
Found in a large selection of waters such as small brooks to large lakes. Prefers weed shorelines or rocky cover rather than open water.



Length:
Rarely exceeds 7 inches in length


and a pic

Hope this helps ya out man...I'm sorry woman ... oh I dont know Shemale?

 

[ryan]

Lepomis microlophus

Her fish, now why is that a big no no?

Now there is a possibility that its a Green Sunfish, the shape is more correct but I left that possibility alone as it didn't appear to have the prominent orange pectoral fins that I relate to Green Sunfish, although it could be the photo or age of the fish that affects that. Its up to you steppy104 as to which one it is as you can see it more clearly, its either the Green Sunfish or Redeared Sunfish? I have to say I now favour the Green Sunfish but the colouring puts me off slightly.

 

[Opcn]

Could be a drab fish or a hybrid with a redear but red ears are a different shape well there are many fish it could be a hybrid between but I'd say at this point its deffinitly a sun fish. nothing else has those opercular spots. I figured green sunfish because she said it had the irredescent blue striped on the jaw.

 

[ryan]

Ah I hadn't noticed she had said that, yes a Sunfish for sure. Just have to see which one the owner can ID it as.

 

[steppy104]

it has the blue streaks on the cheaks just like that picture that opcn showed....maybe it's too young to show orange? i mean..they are pretty small if they are coldwater fish. i looked up a pic that showed the body shape really well for the redear sunfish.....way too up and down like.....fat like.

these 2 guys have a slick look to their body shape. long and narrow like. i think that besides it's color isn't orange, it does look alot like that....but, i guess i'll have my dad look at it before i'm sure....*waits for a "NO! THATS NOT IT!"*

 

[Opcn]

NO! THATS NOT IT!

Oh sorry force of habit )

Well the red ear usually has Red ears even when young Apperently It's quite common for a green to be a bit more green than the one shown Virginia something or other (some institute or colledge) has a good list of sunfish to look at there are about 40 different kinds and a fair amount of hybridization aswell just remember sunfish are dirty dirty fish. Dont let them get ahold of any print material that could corrupt there young and impresionable minds.

 

[steppy104]

they're already corrupted....picking on the littler ones (minnows) and not paying any attention to the elderly (catfish&pleco) and picking fights with others (the 2 unknowns occasionaly get mad at eachother, and they both don't get along with the gourami...but the gourami doesn't put up with their crap)
lol.

 

[steppy104]

wow....my dad actually agreed to that green sunfish!

i think we have a winner here!!!

 

[dshand2002]

it looks like a tropical chinchilid to me.....

stop laughing.

 

[wrs]

i think it is a Lepomis microlophus as well. I saw some of those today in a pond, very pretty fish.

 

[BichirKeeper]

It's a green sunfish, I catch them often when fishing for crappie.

 

[balloon molly]

it is definitely a green sunfish i always catch those while fishing for bass and bluegill

 

[koimom]

It's probably not, but my first thought was a Garibaldi Kribensis? How tired am I, anyway...hmm...