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Help Identifing sunfish

Started by Guest_TFD_* , Jan 08 2007 06:48 PM

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55 replies to this topic

#21 Guest_sandtiger_*

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Posted 09 January 2007 - 09:08 PM

shellcracker is another name used for redear sunfish

Or pumpkinseed.

At least, I have heard them called that before. But that's common names for ya.

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#22 Guest_dsmith73_*

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Posted 09 January 2007 - 09:20 PM

Or pumpkinseed. At least, I have heard them called that before. But that's common names for ya.

Actually, the pumpkinseed is another species, L. gibbosus. This fish is not a pumpkinseed due to the lack of facial striations. The body is very angular, very much like a crappie, which is reminiscent of redears.

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#23 Guest_teleost_*

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Posted 09 January 2007 - 09:30 PM

Locally pumkinseed are called shellcrackers from time to time in Norther Illinois. I guess this is due to the fact that redears aren't native to my parts. Common names are pretty bad. Whats a "stumpknocker" ?

I completely agree the body shape is redear all the way. With the last photo, I'm backing off the pumkinseed.

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#24 Guest_sandtiger_*

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Posted 09 January 2007 - 09:38 PM

Actually, the pumpkinseed is another species, L. gibbosus. This fish is not a pumpkinseed due to the lack of facial striations. The body is very angular, very much like a crappie, which is reminiscent of redears.

Yeah, I know the pumpkinseed isen't the same speices as a redear. What I ment was, pumpkinseed are also called shellcrackers along with the redears. We have pumpkinseed here in NY but no redears. I hear the pumpkinseed called shellcrackers often but to be honest, just about everyone calls them all bluegills.

Whats a "stumpknocker" ?

How about "buglemouth bass" (common carp).

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#25 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 09 January 2007 - 09:56 PM

not to derail further, but around here Longear sunfish are called pumpkinseeds by most people

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#26 Guest_sandtiger_*

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Posted 09 January 2007 - 10:10 PM

not to derail further, but around here Longear sunfish are called pumpkinseeds by most people

I have heard that one as well.

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#27 Guest_eLeMeNt_*

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Posted 09 January 2007 - 10:26 PM

I am a new to this forum and antive fish. My son and I recently collected a few juvinile sunfish for our aquarium. We have had them for about 2 weeks and they are doing well on freeze dried blood worms. I think they are bluegills but would like some help identifing them. They where collected in a small private lake near Lubbock, TX. Also, what tempurate is best for them?

Thanks Don

Here's a pic of the 2 inch pumpkinseed in my tank. Your fish has mottling like a pumpkinseed, but I don't think it is one. Juvenile sunfish can be difficult to ID when it comes to relying only on a picture. Unless you desperately want to know what species the fish is right now, I would let it grow for a few months and then post another pic. It should be easier to ID from a picture when it is a bit larger. Either that, or find someone in the area that knows their sunfish.
Posted Image

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#28 Guest_edbihary_*

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Posted 10 January 2007 - 02:26 AM

Whats a "stumpknocker" ?

I understand that to be a spotted sunfish. They supposedly make a knocking sound while trying to extract food from submerged tree trunks.

Look at all the fish that are called stumpknockers here:
http://www.toledo-be...p?request=fish2

It apparently depends somewhat on where you live, just like the different fish known in different locations as "shellcrackers".

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#29 Guest_TFD_*

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Posted 10 January 2007 - 11:09 AM

Well, I used another camera without a flash and got some better photos. I also pulled out a ruller and got some measurments. I am now thinking they are redear or pumkinseed (but I know nothing). The first photo below is of the smallest fish which is about 2 Inches. The second photo is of the Largest which is about 3 inches and is the same fish as the earlier pictures in this thread. The only difference I can see between the two is the size and that the gill spot is darker on the larger fish. Do the gill spot get darker with age or could these be two different species? Thanks for all the opinions.

Don

SmallestFish001.jpg 65.91KB 5 downloads

LargestFish001.jpg 81.61KB 5 downloads

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#30 Guest_smbass_*

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Posted 10 January 2007 - 11:16 AM

Much better picture and I beleive we will get more of a concensus this time around... The top one beyond any doubt to me is a warmouth ( I know not what I said before but the picture makes a world of difference) the bottom one too looks like it may be a warmouth but it looks a little funny not as confident on that one but probably the same species the head looks right to me mouth going back under the eye and the large size of the eye, what looks odd is the patern on the side but warmouth are highly variable.

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#31 Guest_drewish_*

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Posted 10 January 2007 - 12:04 PM

For comparison (4-5") :

Posted Image

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#32 Guest_dsmith73_*

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Posted 10 January 2007 - 12:08 PM

I think you are dead on sm. It's amazing how much a flash can cover up.

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#33 Guest_hmt321_*

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Posted 10 January 2007 - 02:11 PM

yep, the lines on the head, the mouth goes to the middle of the eye or slightly beyond, that pict makes a big difference

I change my vote to warmouth

I will be looking for one that size in 2 months or so

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#34 Guest_eLeMeNt_*

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Posted 10 January 2007 - 02:15 PM

I'd say warmouth also. I was hesitant to say a red ear because in the fish guide that Maryland DNR uses they state that one of the main differences between a pumpkinseed and a redear sunfish is that pumpkinseeds have mottling on the posterior part of their dorsal fin while red ears lack mottling on the posterior part of their dorsal fin. This fish definitely has mottling in its dorsal fin, but it is out of pumpkinseed range. Warmouth it is.

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#35 Guest_arnoldi_*

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Posted 10 January 2007 - 08:13 PM

Yeah, the mottling on the dorsal is what made me think it was a warmouth as opposed to a redear.

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#36 Guest_fisgokie_*

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Posted 10 January 2007 - 09:17 PM

that is a crappie! that is a crappie

(in a playful joking voice)

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#37 Guest_edbihary_*

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Posted 10 January 2007 - 09:46 PM

that is a crappie! that is a crappie

I don't know what kind of sunfish it is, but it is definitely not a crappie. A crappie's anal fin is nearly a mirror image of its dorsal fin., and the bases are nearly the same length. This fish's anal fin is not a mirror image of its dorsal fin; the base of the anal fin is only about half that of the dorsal fin. Definitely sunfish of some sort, definitely not crappie!

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#38 Guest_choupique_*

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Posted 11 January 2007 - 01:47 AM

Looks even more warmouthy now than before, but I think we need to see what these guys look like when they get close to five inches. That top one looks a bit odd, and so does the bottom one. Just a bit odd though, could be a local variation like that wild colored warmouth in ... shoot, general discussion?

Tiny/quarter sized and smaller pumpkinseeds and warmouth I can catch in the same net haul locally are really hard to tell apart, really have to get close and look at the size of the mouth. Then after a few of each species the differences become apparent, for that trip. Next time out its back to checking mouth sizes.

I go through this with bluegills and orange spotted sunfish that small. Once you get them side by side, the difference become pretty easy to see, until the next time you are out on the water.

Now those two instances are fish in hand in daylight. In unnatural light and pictures, lots of key little things are lost to the eye.