CatLover
Fish Addict
I was walking my dog today, and a movement in a ditch near the street caught my eye. The ditch has been dry for a long time, and there was a small puddle in it that was maybe 3 or 4 gallons big. The thing that moved looked like a leaf at first, but after staring for a minute, I saw it was a fish! Quite a large fish at that!
I hurried home and Googled fish in Ky. I was pretty sure it was a juvenile bluegill because it was only 6 inches long. I read that they live in streams and lakes around here. I wondered how he got there because that ditch hasn't had flowing water through it in months, and the nearest body of water from that puddle was a good 300 ft away.
I knew it didn't stand a chance with it being so large and living in a 3 gallon puddle. It would be eaten by a raccoon or cat very soon. I grabbed a bucket and scooped it out of the puddle. I studied it and tried IDing it further to make sure it was a bluegill - and I had been wrong! It was actually an adult male pumpkinseed, which is a very close relative of the bluegill. They are native where I live too, and also require the same lake or stream habitat as the bluegill.
After accurately IDing him and snapping a few pics, I decided he was stressed enough and needed to be in a correct home. Luckily there is a large creek near my neighborhood, which might be where he came from, although I don't know how. There is a lot of coverage and food there for fish and other animals, so I let him loose in the creek. Much better than a tiny puddle in a ditch!
He was in breeding colors (August is the last month of pumpkinseed breeding season) and had the most handsome face. The pics I took are terrible, but this pic I found on Google looks exactly like him.
I hurried home and Googled fish in Ky. I was pretty sure it was a juvenile bluegill because it was only 6 inches long. I read that they live in streams and lakes around here. I wondered how he got there because that ditch hasn't had flowing water through it in months, and the nearest body of water from that puddle was a good 300 ft away.
I knew it didn't stand a chance with it being so large and living in a 3 gallon puddle. It would be eaten by a raccoon or cat very soon. I grabbed a bucket and scooped it out of the puddle. I studied it and tried IDing it further to make sure it was a bluegill - and I had been wrong! It was actually an adult male pumpkinseed, which is a very close relative of the bluegill. They are native where I live too, and also require the same lake or stream habitat as the bluegill.
After accurately IDing him and snapping a few pics, I decided he was stressed enough and needed to be in a correct home. Luckily there is a large creek near my neighborhood, which might be where he came from, although I don't know how. There is a lot of coverage and food there for fish and other animals, so I let him loose in the creek. Much better than a tiny puddle in a ditch!
He was in breeding colors (August is the last month of pumpkinseed breeding season) and had the most handsome face. The pics I took are terrible, but this pic I found on Google looks exactly like him.
They were really violent, tried to kill all the goldfish. I ended up having to set up a new species tank for them.
