Nongame Fish Species

Blue-spotted Sunfish

Enneacanthus gloriosus – Native
Family: Centrarchidae

The Blue-spotted Sunfish is a small fish with a laterally compressed body and bright blue or silver spots along its sides. The Blue-spotted Sunfish prefers slow-moving water and areas with dense submerged aquatic vegetation. Spawning occurs from late spring through summer. Blue-spotted Sunfish are opportunistic feeders, but their diet consists mostly of aquatic insects and other invertebrates.

 

Cutlips Minnow

Exoglossum maxillingua – Native
Family: Cyprinidae

The Cutlips Minnow is a small fish of about 4 to 6 inches in length, with brown, gray, or olive fading on its sides. The Cutlips Minnow is named for its distinctive lower jaw, which is thickened and forms three fleshy lobes. They prefer slow moving water and may be found under large rocks. Their diet consists mostly of insect larvae.

 

Eastern Mudminnow

Umbra pygmaea – Native
Family: Umbridae

The Eastern Mudminnow is a small, slender fish that is usually between 2 to 4 inches long. Mudminnows are named for their ability to burrow into the mud and enter a state called aestivation during hot or dry periods. Aestivation is a state of dormancy that is characterized by low activity. This ability helps mudminnows to survive in less than ideal conditions. Spawning occurs in the spring. Females lay adhesive eggs that attach to submerged vegetation. Both parents stay to guard the eggs. The diet of the Eastern Mudminnow consists of insects, snails, and crustaceans.

 

Fallfish

National Park Service

Fallfish

Semotilus corporalis - Native
Family: Cyprinidae

Fallfish are thick-bodied minnows that inhabit freshwater streams and rivers. They can grow to 10 inches in length and live for over 10 years. Fallfish are omnivorous and feed on plankton, insects, insect larvae, mollusks, leeches, and algae. Males build nest mounds by first excavating sand and gravel with their mouths to create a pit. Then, males pick up pebbles and stones one by one and drop them into the pit to form a mound. One male Fallfish will build the nest mound and then initiate communal spawning. Multiple males and females will use a single nest.

 

Golden Shiner

National Park Service

Golden Shiner

Notemigonus crysoleucas - Native
Family: Cyprinidae

The Golden Shiner is a minnow species that inhabits quiet portions of the Upper Delaware River. Golden Shiners prefer areas with clear water and abundant aquatic vegetation. They can grow to be 10 inches and live to about 8 years of age. Females lay adhesive eggs that stick to aquatic vegetation and may produce up to 200,000 eggs multiple times throughout the spawning season. The diet of the Golden Shiner consists primarily of zooplankton and midge pupae.

 

Longnose Dace

Rhinichthys cataractae – Native
Family: Cyprinidae

The Longnose Dace is a small fish that grows to be about 4 to 5 inches in length. Their back and sides are brown to olive, which fades to silver, and they have reddish fins. Longnose Dace are usually found in fast moving coldwater streams with a strong current. Spawning takes place in spring over sand or gravel areas. Females lay eggs while males defend the spawning site by ramming into or biting trespassers. After about 7 to 10 days, the eggs hatch. The diet of the Longnose Dace consists of mostly mayflies, blackflies, and midge larvae.

 

Margined Madtom

Noturus insignis – Native
Family: Ictaluridae

The Margined Madtom is a light yellow to brown bodied fish, and its fins have black edging around the outsides. Margined Madtom can grow to be about 6 inches in length. Usually found in smaller rivers or creeks, they prefer areas with rocky riffles and fast-flowing water. Their diet consists of mayflies, midges, and black flies.

 

Tessellated Darter

Etheostoma olmstedi – Native
Family: Percidae

The Tessellated Darter is a pale-sandy colored fish with 9 to 11 small X or W-shaped marks. Breeding adults develop vertical bars on their sides and lose the X and W-shaped marks. Spawning begins in spring when females deposit eggs that adhere to rocks. Males fertilize the eggs as they swim over them and then stay to protect the eggs. The Tessellated Darter’s diet consists of insects and crustaceans. The Dwarf Wedgemussel (Alasmidonta heterodon), which through its water filtering capacity, aids in maintaining the Upper Delaware River’s high water quality, relies heavily on the Tessellated Darter for a portion of its life. The glochidia (mussel larvae) attach to a fish host, which helps the glochidia to develop and disperse. Glochidia can only survive if they find the correct host.

 

White Sucker

Evan Padua

White Sucker

Catostomus commersonii – Native
Family: Catostomidae

The White Sucker has scales with a silver sheen and a yellowish to olive brown head. White Suckers may be found in a wide variety of habitats and can even tolerate somewhat polluted or low oxygen water. Spawning occurs in the spring from May to June. After females lay around 20,000 to 50,000 eggs, neither parent stays around to care for the eggs or young. After hatching, young White Suckers grow quickly. White Suckers are most active at sunrise and sunset when most of their feeding occurs. Their diet consists of zooplankton, aquatic insects, mollusks, and crustaceans.

 

Fishing catch your Fancy?

Fishing on the Upper Delaware

 

• 

  Coldwater Fish Species

  Learn about the Coldwater Fish Species found in the Upper Delaware River.

• 

  Migratory Fish Species

  Learn about the Migratory Fish Species found in the Upper Delaware River.

• 

  Other Gamefish Species

  Learn about the Gamefish Species of the Upper Delaware River.