The bluespotted sunfish (''Enneacanthus gloriosus'') is a species of

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

in the 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 ...

, the sunfishes. It is native to the southeastern and eastern

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 territori ...

, its distribution extending as far north as

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 ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, and far southern New York. It is native throughout most of its range, but some populations represent introductions, such as those in

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border ...

and the upper Susquehanna River system. In many areas, this fish is sympatric with a closely related member of its genus, the banded sunfish (''E. obesus''). The two species are hard to tell apart. They are known to hybridize.

Description

This fish reaches about in maximum length. It is one of the smallest fish in its family. It has spines in its dorsal and anal fins. Its tail fin is rounded in outline. Its body is covered in white or blue dots. Some individuals have iridescent spots. There may be a few pale bars on its sides, but these are rare, especially in adults. A number of parasitic

flatworms The flatworms, flat worms, Platyhelminthes, or platyhelminths (from the Greek πλατύ, ''platy'', meaning "flat" and ἕλμινς (root: ἑλμινθ-), ''helminth-'', meaning "worm") are a phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegment ...

have been observed in this fish, such as '' Gyrodactylus gloriosi'' and several '' Urocleidus'' species.

Habitat

Several aspects of the life history of the fish vary geographically. Fish on the East Coast and in

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 ...

are larger than individuals in

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, for example. The fish becomes sexually mature at larger sizes in more northern latitudes. This may be because fish in milder climates can begin reproductive investment earlier, putting their energy into gonadal growth instead of body growth at younger ages. Fish in the east can reach a maximum age around 5 years, but fish in the south generally do not reach that age. The

spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquat ...

season is also much longer in southern regions, probably because of warmer temperatures and longer photoperiod. This freshwater fish occupies ponds, lakes, creeks, streams, and medium-sized rivers. It can tolerate slightly

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estu ...

water in areas near the coast. It thrives in small backwaters filled with vegetation and tree roots. This species is sometimes kept as an aquarium pet.

Reproduction

The fish spawns several times in a season, sometimes daily for a long period of time. The male builds a nest in the substrate or in plant matter. Clutch sizes of 42 to 216 have been observed.

Diet

The diet of the fish is rich in

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucia ...

. It consumes cyclopoid copepods, water fleas, midge larvae,

ostracod Ostracods, or ostracodes, are a class of the Crustacea (class Ostracoda), sometimes known as seed shrimp. Some 70,000 species (only 13,000 of which are extant) have been identified, grouped into several orders. They are small crustaceans, typi ...

s, amphipods, and

snail A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class G ...

s. Its preference for tiny aquatic larvae makes it a suitable mosquito control agent.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1301279 Bluespotted sunfish Freshwater fish of the Southeastern United States Fish described in 1855 Freshwater fish of North America