The blackbanded sunfish (''Enneacanthus chaetodon'') is a freshwater fish species of the sunfish family (

Centrarchidae Centrarchidae, better known as sunfishes, is a family of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the order Perciformes (formerly belonging to the deprecated order Centrarchiformes), native only to North America. There are eight universally i ...

). They are found in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

ranging from

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

to central

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

.> The defining feature of this Black-banded sunfish is the black vertical strips that it has on both sides of its body. The term "

Enneacanthus ''Enneacanthus'' is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes. The type species is ''E. obesus,'' the banded sunfish, and the species of this genus are known collectively as the banded or little sunfi ...

" comes from the Greek terms ''ennea'', which means "nine times", and ''acanthi'', which means "thorn". It is in a genus that consists of only three species along with the Banded Sunfish (''Enneacanthus obesus'') and the

Bluespotted Sunfish The bluespotted sunfish (''Enneacanthus gloriosus'') is a species of fish in the family Centrarchidae, the sunfishes. It is native to the southeastern and eastern United States, its distribution extending as far north as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, ...

(''Enneacanthus gloriosus''). Collectively, they are commonly referred to as the "Banded Sunfish" or "Little Sunfish".

Description

The Black-banded sunfish is fairly small, maximum length of 10 cm, with an average life span of 3–4 years. The average length of this sunfish is around 6 centimeters in length. The Black-banded sunfish has a very compressed, deep body with a small mouth but big lower jaw extending upwards. Its gill cover has a black spot, and the

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal c ...

(top), anal (back/bottom), and caudal (tail) fins are black-mottled. Its

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

stands upright with 10 spines and the tail fin is somewhat rounded. The body coloration is mostly a shiny silver with yellow spots. The Black-banded sunfish gets its name from the six black vertical lines on each side, starting with the first line running through its eye and five more vertical lines back to the tail fin.

Sexual dimorphism

Generally the males are heavier and more colorful than the females. The males also are larger with longer fins, while the females become plumper when ripe with eggs.

Habitat

The Black-banded Sunfish ''Enneacanthus chaetodon'' are found in the

from

to central

. There are also reports that these fish are in the

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

Valley, but there have not been any success in collecting fish from this area. Black-banded sunfish are restricted to shallow, low-velocity, non-turbid waters of lakes, ponds, rivers and streams. They are strongly associated with aquatic plants, because it provides them with a habitat for foraging and cover. The fish population has been hurt over the past few years due to poor water conditions and pollution.

Diet

The Black-banded Sunfish are

carnivores A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...

. In most locations, midge larvae are the predominant food source for Black-banded sunfish. However they also consume a wide variety of

zooplankton Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...

, aquatic insects, and crustaceans.

Behavior

The Black-banded sunfish is a peaceful, friendly fish that likes to group with others of the same species. They can, however, become aggressive and territorial when spawning.

Reproduction

Black-banded sunfish are like other sunfish, with the male staking out a nest site normally among plants. Females lay their eggs in the nest, and then the males will drive them off. Like other sunfish, the males will guard their eggs until hatching and sometimes perhaps for a week after until the fry are free swimming.

Threats and protection needs

The Black-banded sunfish is critically imperiled and vulnerable in much of its range along the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

. Some of its reasons of decline are because of drying of ponds and swamps as well as contamination of water by

pesticides Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampric ...

. Also, taking Black-banded sunfish for aquariums poses a threat for populations of them in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q969325 Blackbanded sunfish Freshwater fish of North America