Dollar sunfish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dollar sunfish |
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The dollar sunfish (Lepomis marginatus) is a type of freshwater fish. It belongs to the sunfish family, called Centrarchidae. This fish is known as a warm water pan-fish. Early settlers thought it looked like a European fish called bream.
Dollar sunfish usually eat tiny bits of dead plants and algae. They also eat some insects that fall into the water. Young and adult dollar sunfish do not have many enemies. However, their eggs in the nest can be eaten by other fish.
These fish breed at different times depending on where they live. They usually breed from April to September. In some places, like North Carolina, they breed from May to August. They always finish breeding before it gets cold. They like to build their nests on sandy bottoms. Male dollar sunfish build and guard the nests. They also take care of the eggs and young fish. A dollar sunfish can live for about 6 years. It can grow up to 100 millimeters (about 4 inches) long.
There are rules to protect sunfish from being caught too much. These rules are called creel limits. They help keep the fish populations healthy. Other types of sunfish have been put into lakes in Tennessee. But the dollar sunfish has not been stocked there yet.
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Where Do Dollar Sunfish Live?
Historically, you could find dollar sunfish along the Southern Atlantic coast. This area stretches from North Carolina all the way to Florida. They also lived west to Texas. They are most common in the southeastern United States. They become harder to find further west.
Today, their range in North America is from the Tar River in North Carolina to the Brazos River in Texas. They are also found in the former Mississippi Embayment. This area goes from western Kentucky and eastern Arkansas south to the Gulf of Mexico. Sometimes, dollar sunfish have been seen in the Tennessee and Mississippi river systems. It can be hard to tell them apart from young longear sunfish. Because of this, we don't fully understand where all dollar sunfish live.
What Do Dollar Sunfish Eat?
The dollar sunfish has a small mouth. This means it cannot eat large prey. Its diet is made up of much smaller living things. They often eat midge larvae and tiny crustaceans. These are like tiny shrimp.
Scientists have looked at the stomachs of dollar sunfish. They found a lot of plant bits and algae. They also found some land insects. This shows that dollar sunfish eat both in the water and from the surface. They seem to prefer food that is easy to catch. This helps them save energy.
Young and adult dollar sunfish are not often hunted by other animals. Humans are their main predator. However, their eggs and young fish are at risk. Larger fish like largemouth bass can eat them. Other sunfish and some invertebrates also eat them.
Dollar sunfish usually don't compete with other sunfish species for food. This is because different sunfish often live in different parts of the water. Dollar sunfish like water with a pH of 7 to 7.8. They prefer temperatures between 16 and 28 degrees Celsius (61-82 degrees Fahrenheit).
You can often find them in slow-moving streams. They also live in floodplain pools and oxbow lakes. Ponds and plant-filled areas of large reservoirs are also good spots. They prefer sandy or clay bottoms covered with silt and plant bits. They are often found near underwater plants or overhanging plants along riverbanks.
How Do Dollar Sunfish Grow and Reproduce?
Dollar sunfish usually lay their eggs in the spring. This happens from April to October. The water temperature is usually between 16.8 and 25.6 degrees Celsius. They are most active in late spring and summer.
Their nests are built alone, often next to logs or other structures. Nests are usually 30 to 94 centimeters (12-37 inches) wide. They are about 15 to 20 centimeters (6-8 inches) deep in the middle. Males usually build the nests on hard sand.
Female dollar sunfish lay many eggs. On average, they lay about 3,300 eggs. The number can range from 322 to over 9,000. This depends on the size of the female. In Carolina, dollar sunfish are ready to breed at two years old. They can live for about six years.
Human activities have had some impact on dollar sunfish. When dams were built on the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers, their numbers seemed to go down. The dams changed their natural homes. But dollar sunfish have adapted. Now, you can find them in some reservoirs in West Tennessee and Florida.
Protecting Dollar Sunfish
There are rules and laws to help protect dollar sunfish. Most states have a "creel limit." This is the maximum number of fish a person can catch in one day. However, in Tennessee, there is no creel limit for these small pan fish.
The dollar sunfish is not listed as threatened or endangered. This means it is not in danger of disappearing. But it is rare to find them in the western part of their range. Their numbers have gone down a lot in the last twenty years.
No one knows exactly why their numbers have dropped. Some fish experts think habitat destruction is the main reason. In states near the Gulf of Mexico, habitat destruction is a big problem. Hurricanes can destroy the plants and cover where dollar sunfish live.
There are no natural reasons for their decline. They are very small fish. Anglers, or people who fish, usually don't target them. So, it's unlikely they are being overfished.
One issue in lakes with more plankton is water clarity. Dumping trash and stirring up clay and silt with boats makes the water cloudy. This blocks sunlight. Plankton need sunlight to grow. If plankton populations decrease, the dollar sunfish's food supply also decreases.
Humans can help protect dollar sunfish homes. We can manage the aquatic plants in rivers and reservoirs. There should also be bigger fines for dumping trash into lakes and rivers. State conservation groups, like TWRA, are working to protect this species. Some areas in the Mississippi and Ohio Valley Plains are also set aside to help save these fish.
