Fish Iowa - Fish Species - Longear Sunfish

Species Information

Characteristics

A deep, slab-sided fish with a moderate-sized mouth. The upper jaw nearly reaches the front of the eye when the mouth is closed. The spiny dorsal fin has 10 spines and is connected to the soft dorsal in a single continuous fin. The pectoral fins are short and rounded. The black-colored operculum flap is greatly elongated in adults, especially males. The sides and back are blue-green, and the belly is orange or yellow. The sides are speckled with yellow, and the olive or light orange head has emerald-blue vermiculations. The ear flap has a thin white margin, and the fins are usually without dark spots.

Foods

aquatic insects, copepods and cladocerans as young; insects, fish eggs, snails and small crayfish after it reaches 2-inches or longer

Expert Tip

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Details

Longear Sunfish thrive in pools, reservoirs, farm ponds, and streams of all sizes, except extreme headwaters. They are most often found in clear, permanent flowing streams with moderate current and low gradient, avoiding turbidity, but some investigators report that the Longear Sunfish was only consistently abundant in sluggish pools and low gradient streams. Longear Sunfish are found over rocky or sandy bottoms, often near aquatic plants at the margins of streams and pools.