Green sunfish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Green sunfish |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Lepomis
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| Species: |
cyanellus
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The green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) is a type of freshwater fish. It belongs to the sunfish family, called Centrarchidae. These fish are popular with people who like to fish, and some even keep them as aquarium pets.
You might catch a green sunfish by accident while trying to catch other fish. They are often caught using live bait like nightcrawlers, waxworms, or mealworms. You can even use pieces of hot dog or corn! Green sunfish are quite active and will bite small lures. You can also catch them using fly fishing gear.
Scientists say that green sunfish can see light in a special way that humans cannot. This is called polarization sensitive vision. It helps them see things better in cloudy water.
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Where Green Sunfish Live
The green sunfish naturally lives in a large area of North America. This area is east of the Rocky Mountains. It stretches from the Hudson Bay area in Canada down to the Gulf Coast in the United States and northern Mexico.
You can find them in many lakes and rivers. This includes the Great Lakes and parts of the Mississippi River. Green sunfish have also been moved to many other places across the United States. Because of this, you can find them almost anywhere. They have even been taken to countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe. In some of these places, they have started to live and grow.
What Green Sunfish Look Like
Green sunfish have a blue-green color on their backs and sides. Their scales have yellow spots. Their bellies are usually yellow. The sides of their heads have bright blue stripes. These stripes can sometimes make people think they are bluegill fish.
They also have a dark spot near the back of their dorsal fin (the fin on their back). There are also dark spots on their anal fins (fins near the tail) and on their ear plates. Green sunfish have a fairly big mouth and a long snout. Their pectoral fins (fins on their sides) are short and rounded.
Most green sunfish are about 3 to 7 inches long. They usually weigh less than one pound. The biggest green sunfish ever found was about 12 inches long. It weighed about 2.2 pounds. It can be tricky to tell different sunfish apart. This is because they often mix with other sunfish species. This creates fish that are a mix of two types.
Green Sunfish Homes
These fish like to live in calm waters. This includes slow-moving parts of rivers, lakes, and ponds. They prefer places with gravel, sand, or rocky bottoms. However, they can also live in very muddy water. They are good at living even when the water conditions are not perfect.
Green sunfish often hide around rocks, sunken logs, and plants. They like any place that gives them cover.
What Green Sunfish Eat
Green sunfish are omnivores, which means they eat both plants and animals. Their diet includes many things. They eat insects that live in the water and their young (larvae). They also eat insects that fall into the water. Other foods include crayfish, snails, and sometimes small fish. They will also eat fish eggs and tiny water animals called zooplankton.
Green Sunfish Life Cycle
Green sunfish start to lay eggs in the summer. The exact time depends on where they live and how warm the water is. When it's time to lay eggs, the male fish makes a nest. He clears a shallow dip in the bottom of the water. These nests are often near things that offer shelter, like rocks or logs.
The male fish protects his nest from other males. He might show off or even fight if he needs to. Sometimes, just building a nest is enough to attract a female. If not, he will make grunting sounds and lead a female to his nest.
The male and female fish will swim around the nest together. Then the female goes down to lay her eggs in the nest. A female can lay anywhere from 2,000 to 26,000 eggs! After laying the eggs, she leaves. The male fish then guards the eggs. He watches over them until they hatch in about three to five days. He also fans the eggs with his fins. This keeps them clean and gives them fresh, oxygen-rich water.
When the baby fish, called fry, hatch, they stay near the nest for a few days. After that, they leave to find food and take care of themselves. Once the eggs have hatched, the male often tries to attract another female to lay more eggs in his nest. Green sunfish usually live for about 4 to 6 years in the wild.
Green sunfish often build their nests close to each other. They also build nests near other types of sunfish. Because the nests are so close, a female green sunfish might lay some of her eggs in another male's nest, even if he is a different species. This can lead to baby fish that are a mix of two different types of sunfish. These mixed fish often look like a combination of their parents. This can make it hard to tell what kind of sunfish they are.
Green Sunfish and People
In some places, like Florida and New Jersey, the green sunfish is considered an invasive species. This means it is not native to the area and can cause problems for local fish. In New Jersey, if you catch a green sunfish, you must not release it back into the water. It is illegal to keep them without a special permit. These permits are usually only for public places like aquariums or research centers.
The biggest green sunfish ever caught by an angler weighed 2 pounds and 2 ounces (0.96 kg). This record was set in Stockton Lake, Missouri, in 1971.
Images for kids
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Green sunfish
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A juvenile green sunfish
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Green sunfish from Walnut Point State Park
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Adult green sunfish
