need ID for a sunfish, a tilapia sp, and a big fish

hey guys. so i'm finally getting around to editing the pictures. i "narrowed" them down to 39 pictures from the last time out, which i'll be posting tonight after I get back from work.

for now i have 3 fish that I need help identifying. these were all collected by cast net in Tamiami Trail (Everglades), Miami, Florida:

1. is this a Redear Sunfish? caught about 3 of these. they look very much like bluegill to me except for the red ears...hence my assumption it's a redear rather than bluegill...


2. this monster fish I have no clue what it is. it is by far the biggest fish i've caught in my life (not much of a fisherman), and at 22 inches (measured) the biggest i've pulled up on a cast net too.


and for another angle at the fish:



3. lastly, i know these are Tilapia, but which one? I think these are Blue Tilapia (O. aureus):



then there were these others. the body shape/markings were the same, except instead of the grey/blue, these were strong yellow. i think these may be Nile Tilapia (O. niloticus):



and for a comparison of the two colors:


I caught several of both colors, sometimes in the same cast. so are these the same species with different colors, or are they indeed two separate species? i also caught spotted tilapia (T. mariae)...would 3 species normally be found in the same water hole?


so what do I have here? thanks!

Edited by trojannemo, 12 January 2010 - 01:31 AM.

the mystery fish is a mullet

its not just a hair style

thank you. i had thought it may be mullet but most of the line drawings found through a google search look very different to this fish. but it seems to be a Striped Mullet (Mugil cephalus) at its maximum size. thanks!

now what about the sunfish and the tilapia?

Redear sunfish: Yes, a nice one.
Tilapia: blue or perhaps hybrid blue x nile x ???.
I think most of the farmed tilapia are hybrids.

thank you. i had thought it may be mullet but most of the line drawings found through a google search look very different to this fish. but it seems to be a Striped Mullet (Mugil cephalus) at its maximum size. thanks!

now what about the sunfish and the tilapia?

blue tilapia is what you have

They are well established in FL

thank you for the help with the IDs!

so both the grey and the yellow are blue tilapia? after looking up pictures I was half convinced some of the yellow ones were Nile tilapia instead