What Fish Is This?

[griddlebone]

I work in a pet store and we got a fish shipment tuesday, and we got an accidental fish. we had no idea what it is, and we dont sell it. So i took it home. its a silver fish, about 2 inches, has a pink tint to it in the light and it has a neon blue/aqua colored stripes and spots under its eyes and small spots of the same color down its body. =/ my manager thinks is some sort of lake fish because of the spiny dorsel fish it has. help? I have it in a 1 gallon bowl for now.

 

[rdd1952]

As the old saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words". If you can post a photo, you can probably get a pretty quick ID.

 

[griddlebone]

As the old saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words". If you can post a photo, you can probably get a pretty quick ID.

OK, ill do that, right now. 1 second!

 

[griddlebone]

you cant see its aqua very well in these pictures. but thats it.

 

[rdd1952]

Pretty certain it's some type cichlid but don't know enough about them to give a positive ID.

 

[griddlebone]

i see. I really want to find out what he is, cause i dont want him to end up in a lake, if he doesnt belong there. i have an empty 40 gallon i am going to set up when i move in 2 weeks, and i could put him in there if hes not a lake fish. but im not so sure.

 

[rdd1952]

If you can't positively ID him, defintely don't release him into a lake. That can cause major problems. I guess it does resemble some type of bream or bass but the spots and coloring make me think of cichlids as they have those kind of irredescent spots on them that seem to glisten. At least that's kind of how I interpreted your original description.

 

[griddlebone]

yea, he has a shiny iridescent aqua color on his face, under his eyes and down his body in rows of spots. breams and bass, i cant find a juvenile picture that looks like him, they are all so dark colored.. he is a silver color. and he has a black "ear" spot next to his head. when i first saw him, i thought he was a misplaced jack dempsy but when i compared the 2, he doesnt have the 2 or three black spots on his body, and the dempsy doesnt have the ear spot. i thought he was a cichlid... but he does look somewhat like a tilapia, but most tiapia dont have the ear spot... he does look somewhat like a juvenile bluegill, but hes the wrong color... arg....

 

[jb12288]

Can you get a better side shot of him? That would help loads.

 

[griddlebone]

ok.. these are really blurry, but they show his aqua pretty well...

 

[rdd1952]

After seeing the close ups, I think it is a Green Sunfish, indeed what you may call a lake fish. Native to most of the US.

Wiki Page

 

[griddlebone]

i was looking at pictures of the green sunfish as juveniles, they do look similar, but he is completely silver and doesnt have the normally orange back fins the green sunfish have, nor the stripes, but i do think he is some kind of sunfish now.

 

[rdd1952]

Finding juvie photos is difficult. The spot on the gill seems to match as does the body shpae. I think it is definitely something in that family.

Edit: Coloration could also have something to do with the sex of the fish or simply be a matter of stress. As you know, fish seem to lose their color when stressed. I found this site that really doesn't show the color of the previous one I posted. I assume the two photos are male and female but unless I missed it, the articledid not say which was which.

 

[griddlebone]

i see. now that i know its a lake fish... the dilema is, should i keep it? sunfish are kinda pretty.

 

[rdd1952]

What part of the country do you live in? Before you consider releasing it, make sure you know exactly what it is and that it is native to your area. Otherwise, it can cause problems with the eco-system. You might also check at some of the other fish stores in the area to see if it something them may stock or sell. It's doubtful but they may take it anyway. Even a public aquarium might be an option if there is one near you.