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I've just alighted upon something that made my eyes pop out on stalks. It looks like a Cichlid, but it isn't a Cichlid. It is beautifully coloured, is also a 'personality' fish in the same way that some of the more territorial Cichlids are 'personality' fishes, and furthermore, has a temperature range of - wait for it - 10C to 28C. So, what is this mystery fish?

Welcome to Lepomis humilis, the Orange Spotted Sunfish. American aquarists are unlikely to encounter it in a dealer aquarium, because it is an American native, but chances are that a visit to Germany in particular will result in it appearing in dealer aquaria there, and at a considerable price. German aquarists in particular seem to be very fond of native North American fishes, and anyone with a taste for these aquatic novelties will doubtless find numerous German websites devoted entirely to them. And, in the case of Sunfishes, they inspire much the same devotion as Cichlids do. So, let's take a little Baedecker tour of Sunfishes in general, and then the Orange Spotted Sunfish in particular.

Sunfishes belong to the Family Centrarchidae, and in appearance, some species resemble Cichlids to a considerable extent. This is not too surprising, as they are fellow members of the Order Perciformes, and taxonomically close to the true Perches of the Family Percidae. Some Sunfishes have a Perch-like indentation separating the soft and spiny dorsal fins, but the Genus Lepomis has united soft and spiny dorsals, resembling those of Cichlids. The two species best known (and most likely to be documented in textbooks) are Enneacanthus chaetodon, the Black Banded Sunfish, and Elassoma evergladei, the Pygmy Sunfish. The former species, at 10 cm, lives in New Jersey, Maryland and southwards to South Carolina, prefers neutral or slightly acidic water, preferably well-planted, and with open areas of substrate where males can dig depressions that will become nests for the receipt of spawn. The Pygmy Sunfish, as its name suggests, is a native of the Everglades, and rarely exceeds 2.5 cm in length, making it ideal for a smaller aquarium. Generally, Sunfishes are best kept in species aquaria, as they are territorial and not particularly tolerant of crowding or eclectic mixtures of aquarium companions, and in the case of the Pygmy Sunfish, will need a species aquarium simply because it is so tiny, and likely to end up as lunch if kept with bigger inmates! Other species that are likely to be encountered in textbooks are Elassoma zonatum, Lepomis gibbosus (the Pumpkinseed, again a New Jersey native), the Black Crappie (yes, it IS called that!), Pomoxis nigromaculatus, the White Crappie, Pomoxis annularis (don't let the common names fool you - even professional ichthyologists have trouble telling some specimens apart without resort to dissection!), and the Flier, Centrarchus macropeterus. Occasionally, Enneacanthus obesus may also be encountered, this latter species reaching 8 cm in length, and it is among those Sunfishes that have spawned in the aquarium.

All Sunfishes are carnivorous, larger ones WILL eat live fishes if given the temptation to do so by a careless aquarist, and several of them need at least some live food in the diet, some being more difficult to adapt to non-living foods than others. And, as I have already mentioned, they are also territorial. Given space, several specimens of a given species will coexist, like Cichlids, and some (usually the smaller species) will even tolerate conspecifics during breeding if space is sufficient, but the aquarist should be prepared for warfare to break out unless the Sunfishes are in suitably spacious quarters. However, unlike several Cichlids, Sunfishes will not in general attack plants, and are naturally found in biotopes that are rich in aquatic flora. Several species (the various Pomoxis species are particularly in mind here) are actually shy when first being acclimatised, and although Sunfishes are voracious feeders once acclimatised, Pomoxis species are best left to the experienced aquarist, as they can be as recalcitrant as some marines with respect to feeding. Others, however, will attack live foods greedily.

Indeed, from an ecological standpoint, the Sunfishes may be North America's answer to the Cichlids: they tend to occupy similar niches, have ritualised courtship and spawning behaviour (though not as advanced as that of the Cichlids) and exhibit parental care of eggs and fry. This task tends to fall upon the male, and in this respect the Sunfishes more closely resemble the Sticklebacks, and likewise, the nest-building habits tend to resemble those of Sticklebacks too, combining substrate excavations with the construction of nests of plant debris. Fry tend to be fairly large when free-swimming (with the obvious exception of the tiny Elassoma species), and are driven from the nest soon after becoming free-swimming by the male. This activity by the male seems to be needed to 'program' the fry into becoming 'danger aware', another feature shared with sticklebacks as demonstrated by the now-famous Tinbergen experiments: fry that do not experience being chased by the male tend to be blas about the daagers of their environment, and more easily fall prey to fry predators.

Now, on to the fish that made my eyes stick out on stalks!

Lepomis humilis reaches 10 cm in length, and looks as though someone has taken the best bits of various Cichlids and combined them into a single fish. The face is a lovely azure blue, like that of some Mbuna, although the facial topography more closely resembles something like a Convict Cichlid. The throat and belly are red, like a Firemouth Cichlid, and the remainder of the body is a wonderful jade-green shade, almost like a prime breeding Dempsey, albeit sprinkled with a curious irregular pattern of dots that are allegedly orange, but in the illustration before me, the rearmost spots are more a sort of rust colour than orange. Presumably these become bright orange when the fish is in breeding dress. The spots close to the head, however, are definitely orange, and boast an intense metallic iridescence too, with the kind of sparkle or 'fire' one usually associates with gemstones. One other feature that immediately stands out is a large ocellus or eye spot, which is located just behind the gill cover: this is a large black spot with a conspicuous white outer ring, and presumably acts to confuse potential attackers about the position of the eyes (the real eyes are much more subdued in appearance, with no obvious colour differentiation between pupil and iris). The dorsal fin is hyaline with a reddish-orange edge, while the pelvic and anal fins continue the red of the throat and belly. Altogether, this is a fish of distinction, and were it a native of some far-flung rainforest instead of the United States, chances are American aquarists would pay a high price for it. German aquarists appreciate this fish greatly, and in the German fish trade, its price is comparable with that of several of the more attractive Central American Cichlids.

Principal requirements are neutral to slightly acidic water, the aforementioned wide temperature range meaning that it can be kept as a coldwater or a tropical fish, good aeration and filtration, and reasonable water cleanliness. A planted aquarium with reed-type plants (Giant Vallisneria would probably suit it well) and some open spaces, mixed with bogwood roots to provide some 'line of sight' breaking up of territories to mitigate fighting during breeding is called for, and, above all, it should be spacious. The fish should be fed live foods, larger ones will take earthworms in a Cichlid-like manner (with the kind of lightning-fast snap that will make the aquarist check the fingertips afterwards!), and to condition them for breeding, chances are that feeder Guppies or similar live fishes will have to be sacrified. However, given the beautiful colour scheme (which is likely to become positively radiant at breeding time), this is a sacrifice worth making.

All in all, as I've said above, the Orange Spotted Sunfish is a fish of distinction. It looks as though it ought to hail from the same waters as Firemouths or some of the smaller Guapotes, yet can live outdoors in ponds even in temperate latitudes. Looking for something different? Give it a try ...



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Are you working on a book yet ?
Then you can get paid for this !

The Amazon Nut...

And, I might add, quite tasty when pan-fried. I caught several of these when my family took a trip to Kentucky.

As always, most informative and well thought out, Calilasseia!

Joe Potato

"And, I might add, quite tasty when pan-fried" LMAO !!

I would use those for bait to catch the Northern Pike..
Ever try Pike patties ? Ummmmmmmmmmmmm

The Amazon Nut...

mmm pike gooooooooood ever try it smoked? even better

This is the LAST place I expected to find a fish cooking forum

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002