Fish

Fishes We Have Studied

For a more complete list of Fairfax County Fishes, view this page.

Banded Killifish: These fish form shoals to protect themselves from predators. They grow to approximately 10 centimeters in length and have vertical silver-white stripes on the sides of their bodies. Juvenile killifish eat copepods and cladocera, while adults eat insects, mollusks, and mosquito larvae.

Blue Catfish: This is the largest species of North American catfish and can grow up to 65 inches in length, though the average is closer to 30 inches. They are not picky eaters and will consume smaller fish, crustaceans, mussels, and frogs.

White Perch: You may have caught these fish. White perch can grow up to 19 inches and eat smaller minnows. They can spawn as many as 150,000 eggs in one season, and the fry only take approximately six days to hatch.

Yellow Perch: These fish are common throughout much of North America. They vary in size based on where they are located (the farther north, the larger the yellow perch are). They have between five and nine triangular shaped stripes on their bodies and consume crayfish, fish larvae, shrimp, and invertebrates.

Silverside: These small fish only grow to 10 centimeters, and their diet consists largely of zooplankton. They are often used as an indicator species, meaning they can be used to test for aquatic toxicity.

Spottail Shiner: This minnow can grow up to six inches in length and is fairly common throughout the eastern United States. They consume plants and invertebrates and are an important food source for other larger fish.