Hybridization, which is reproduction between two different species, is very common in L. cyanellus. Hybrids tend to be mostly males and grow faster than either of the parent species. Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) and longear sunfish (Lepomis megalotis) are common species that Lepomis cyanellus crossbreeds with. Lepomis megalotis and L. cyanellus hybrids are commonly known as “hybrid bluegills”. (Entier and Starnes, 2001; www.Kentuckyawake.org)
ETYMOLOGY: “Lepomis” means scaled operculum and “cyanellus” means blue.
Green sunfish, like other members of the family Centrarchidae, have young with a less colorful appearance; they are camouflaged to blend in with vegetation (Entier and Starnes, 2001). Their most common aquatic predators are largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) ; channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) ; flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris); and bullhead catfish (Ameiurus) (Paulson and Hatch, 2004; Chizinski and Pope, 2003).
Known Predators:
Anti-predator Adaptations: cryptic
Lepomis cyanellus, like the other members of the Centrarchidae family, is brightly colored. In comparison to the other members it has a wider body (more cigar shaped) and a much larger mouth. They do not grow large enough to be considered desirable “pan-fish,” because their average length is only 12.7 to 15.24 centimeters. This is sometimes due to overpopulation, which can stunt growth. Lepomis cyanellus is blue-green in color with scattered dots of black and a white to yellow belly. They have a dark spot on the soft spinous portion of the dorsal fin, and sometimes a spot on the posterior portion of their anal fin. Females have dusky colored bars on the dorsolateral portion of their body. Immature individuals lack striking color patterns, and instead are plain gray without bands. Breeding males normally have an orange tint to the anal, caudal, pelvic, and posterior dorsal fins and vivid black, orange, and white color on their anal fin. Lepomis cyanellus has palatine teeth and 28 to 29 vertebrae. Entier and Starnes (2001) state that L. cyanellus typically has “anal fin soft rays 9 to 10 (8 to 11). Pectoral fin rays 13 to 15. Gill rakers 11 to 14.”
Range mass: .97 (high) kg.
Range length: 30.48 (high) cm.
Average length: 12.7-15.24 cm.
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; heterothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: male more colorful
Lepomis cyanellus typically live between 4 and 6 years in the wild.
Typical lifespan
Status: wild: 4 to 6 years.
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 7.5 years.
Lepomis cyanellus is a species with a wide tolerance to many different aquatic conditions, one reason why they have been successfully introduced elsewhere. They prefer smaller, sluggish streams and ponds, but can also inhabit lakes with weedy shorelines and slow rivers. They tolerate both turbid and clear water.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; freshwater
Aquatic Biomes: benthic ; lakes and ponds; rivers and streams
Lepomis cyanellus occurs in central North America, from the plains east of the Rocky Mountain range and west of the Appalachian mountain range, including northeastern Mexico and southeastern Canada. L. cyanellus have been introduced and established in a majority of the continental United States, with the exception of Florida and a few northeastern states. Lepomis cyanellus has been introduced to Africa, South America, Asia, and Europe as an exotic species.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Introduced , Native ); palearctic (Introduced ); oriental (Introduced ); ethiopian (Introduced ); neotropical (Introduced )
Green sunfish are dietary generalists. Green sunfish larvae consume various types of zooplankton and, as they grow, they expand their diets to include insect larvae and small snails. As juveniles and adults their diets expand to add small crayfish, fish eggs, insects, and small fish. It should be noted that, as competition decreases, their average prey size increases.
Animal Foods: fish; eggs; insects; mollusks; terrestrial worms; aquatic crustaceans; zooplankton
Primary Diet: carnivore (Insectivore )
Lepomis cyanellus is both a predator and prey, therefore it is a means of transferring energy through the food chain. Since it is such an aggressive species it commonly out competes native fish and affects populations of other aquatic organisms such as crayfish and freshwater mussels.
Commensal/Parasitic Species:
Although L. cyanellus is barely suitable as a "pan-fish," they can be exciting to catch. They have a tendency to attack almost any bait and provide a tough fight for anglers, given their size.
Lepomis cyanellus is problematic for fish management because they often outcompete native fish. These fish have become an issue in bass-bluegill poulation management.
Lepomis cyanellus embryos normally hatch in 2 days. Males guard them for another 5 to 7 days, until the young are able to swim to the top to feed.
Lepomis cyanellus is not listed endangered or threatened either nationally or internationally. They are common and abundant throughout their range.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
Because L. cyanellus males lack dusky bars, it could be suggested that the bright and bold colors are means to attract females through visual cues. Males also produce sounds during mating.
Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Lepomis cyanellus males normally build nests in sunny areas with a gravel substrate and preferably with cover, like rocks, logs, or clumps of grass. They construct depressions by forceful movement of their caudal fins in shallow water (4 to 355 cm deep). The nests are constructed in both colonies and singularly. The nests are aggressively defended by males. Spawning normally occurs 1 to 2 days after nest construction, when a male leads a female to his nest with the production of sounds. They then swim in circles above the nest before they actually spawn. Males can spawn with several females simultaneously.
Mating System: polygynandrous (promiscuous)
Spawning occurs in Lepomis cyanellus when the water rises above 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit). It is thought that L. cyanellus may produce the same number of eggs as Lepomis macrochirus, which is roughly 50,000. It takes normally 1 to 2 days for the eggs to hatch and another 5 to 7 days of protection from the male until they become independent (Parr, 2002).
Breeding interval: Green sunfish can spawn up to every 8 to 10 days during spawning season.
Breeding season: Spawning occurs from May to August.
Range number of offspring: 50,000 (high) .
Average gestation period: 2 days.
Range time to independence: 5 to 7 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 3 years.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 3 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (External ); oviparous
Lepomis cyanellus males are caretakers of the young. Males start by fanning the eggs to promote oxygenation. They defend nests from predators before and after hatching.
Parental Investment: pre-fertilization (Provisioning); pre-hatching/birth (Protecting: Male)
The green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes. A panfish popular with anglers, the green sunfish is also kept as an aquarium fish by hobbyists. They are usually caught by accident, while fishing for other game fish. Green sunfish can be caught with live bait such as nightcrawlers, waxworms, mealworms, and blood worms. Grocery store baits such as pieces of hot dog or corn kernels can even catch fish. Green sunfish are aggressive and will hit small lures. They can be caught with fly fishing tackle.
The green sunfish is native to a wide area of North America, from the Rocky Mountains in the west to the Appalachian Mountains in the east and from the Hudson Bay basin in Canada to the Gulf Coast in the United States and northern Mexico.[2][3] They are specifically indigenous to a number of lakes and rivers such as the Great Lakes and some of the basins of the Mississippi River.
Green sunfish have been introduced to many bodies of water all across the United States.[4] The green sunfish is considered an invasive species by the states of Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia and New Jersey,[2] with unconfirmed presence in Vermont and New Hampshire, namely the Connecticut River and its tributaries.[5] Their invasive potential is due in part to their penchant for chasing other sunfish away from mutually preferred habitat of submerged vegetation, a form of interference competition,[6][7] their relatively large mouth,[8] high fecundity and ability to tolerate sediment pollution. In the state of New Jersey, as of 2021, anglers must destroy green sunfish when caught and should report their catch to a state fisheries biologist.[9] In the state of Florida, a permit is required in order to possess green sunfish as it is listed as a prohibited non-native species there.[10] L. cyanellus has been transplanted to countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe, where it has become established in some.[2]
The green sunfish is blue-green in color on its back and sides with yellow-flecked bony-ridged (ctenoid) scales, as well as yellow coloration on the ventral sides. The gill covers and sides of head have broken bright blue stripes, causing some to mistakenly confuse them with bluegill. They also have a dark spot located near the back end of the dorsal fin, the bases of the anal fins.[11] and on the ear plate. It has a relatively big mouth and long snout that extends to beneath the middle of the eye.[12] Its pectoral fins are short with rounded edges containing 13-14 pectoral fin rays, a dorsal fin with about 10 dorsal spines and a homocercal tail. The typical length ranges from about 3–7 in and usually weighs less than a pound. The green sunfish reaches a maximum recorded length of about 30 cm (12 in), with a maximum recorded weight of 960 g (2.12 lb). Identification of sunfish species from one another can sometimes be difficult as these species frequently hybridize.[13]
The species prefers areas in sluggish backwaters, lakes, and ponds with gravel, sand, or bedrock bottoms. They also can be found in very muddy waters and are able to tolerate poor water conditions. Green sunfish tend to spend their time hiding around rocks, submerged logs, plants, and other things that provide cover.
Its diet can include aquatic insects and larvae, insects that fall into the water, crayfish, snails, other molluscs,[2] turtle food, frogs,[2] some small fish, fish eggs, bryozoans,[2] zooplankton, other small invertebrates, and sometimes plant material.[2] They are omnivores.
Green sunfish begin spawning in the summer with the exact time varying with location and water temperature. When they do spawn, the males create nests in shallow water by clearing depressions in the bottom,[14] often near a type of shelter such as rocks or submerged logs.[15] The male defends his nest from other males using visual displays and physical force when necessary.[16] On occasion, simply constructing a nest is sufficient for the male to attract a mate, but when it is not he will court a female with grunts and lead her to his nest.
They continue their courtship dance, swimming with each other around the nest until the female descends to deposit her eggs in the nest. The female will lay 2,000 to 26,000 eggs and leave them for the male to guard. He keeps watch over them until they hatch in three to five days, while protecting them and fanning them with his fins, keeping them clean and providing them with oxygenated water. When they hatch, the fry remain near the nest for a few days, then leave to feed and fend for themselves.[15] After the eggs have hatched, the male will often seek to attract another female to lay her eggs in his nest. Lepomis cyanellus typically live between 4 and 6 years in the wild.[17]
Green sunfish tend to nest in areas close to other green sunfish, as well as other species of sunfish. Due to the close proximity of multiple nests, a green sunfish female may deposit some of her eggs into the nest of a male of a different species. This in turn leads to the next generation containing some amount of hybrids.[15] These green sunfish hybrids will often look like a combination of their parents, often making it difficult to distinguish one species from another.[18]
The retina of the green sunfish includes a mosaic of cone cells and double cone cells in a regular arrangement.[19] The green sunfish has been theorized to have vision that is sensitive to the polarization of light,[20] which could enhance visibility of targets in scattering media if a processing technique called polarization difference imaging is employed by the fish.[21] Experimental evidence, however, suggests that green sunfish are not able to visually discriminate on the basis of light polarization.[22] Thus, the function of the green sunfish's retinal patterning is not known, although the two different types of cone cell present in green sunfish do facilitate color discrimination.[22]
The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) all tackle world record for the species stands at 0.96 kg (2 lb 2 oz), caught from Stockton Lake, Missouri in 1971.[23]
The generic name Lepomis derives from the Greek λεπίς (scale) and πώμα (cover, plug, operculum). The specific epithet, cyanellus, derives from the Greek κυανός (blue).
Likely the most aggressive sunfish. Difficult to keep with other green sunfishes, other sunfishes, or even other perciform fishes in general unless kept in very spacious aquaria or ponds.[24][25] Like many fishes, more tolerant of distantly related species (i.e. catfishes and minnows), if too large to be eaten. Very aware of environment outside of aquarium, making it an engaging "wet pet." Accepts a variety of foods (flakes, pellets, krill, brine shrimp, bloodworms, and live prey).[26][27][28]
The green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes. A panfish popular with anglers, the green sunfish is also kept as an aquarium fish by hobbyists. They are usually caught by accident, while fishing for other game fish. Green sunfish can be caught with live bait such as nightcrawlers, waxworms, mealworms, and blood worms. Grocery store baits such as pieces of hot dog or corn kernels can even catch fish. Green sunfish are aggressive and will hit small lures. They can be caught with fly fishing tackle.
