Fish
Some are with us year-round, and some spend just part of their lifecycle with us. Please get to know our fish neighbors under the water.
Channel Catfish
(Ictalurus punctatus)
Size: up to 3 feet
Seasons: Year-round
Habitat: Rivers and creeks throughout Philadelphia
Description: Gray with dark spots. Long "whiskers" and a deeply forked tail.
Brown Bullhead
(Ameiurus nebulosus)
Size: Up to about 1 foot
Seasons: Year-round
Habitat: Slow sections of Philly creeks and rivers
Description: Dark brown catfish with a lighter belly. It has long "whiskers" and no scales. Tail rounded (not forked)
White Bullhead
(Ameiurus catus)
Size: Up to a little under 1 foot long
Season: Year-round
Habitat: Slow sections of Philly rivers and creeks
Description: Light gray catfish with long "whiskers."
Flathead Catfish
(Pylodictis olivaris)
Size: Commonly 2-4 feet, 20-30 pounds. Can reach upwards of 100 pounds
Season: Year-round
Habitat: Philadelphia rivers
Description: Wide mouth, brown catfish with no scales, and lightly rounded tail.
Short-Nosed Sturgeon
(Acipenser brevirostrum)
Size: Up to 4.5 feet
Seasons: Year-round
Habitat: Tidal portions of Philadelphia rivers
Description: Large fish with bony plates down its back, shorter snout than that of Atlantic sturgeon
Redbreast Sunfish
(Lepomis auritus)
Size: About 4"
Seasons: Year-round
Habitat: A variety of creek and river habitats throughout Philadelphia
Description: Flat, round body shape. Greenback, shading to yellow or orange belly, reddish-orange breast, and black spot behind the head.
Atlantic Sturgeon
(Acipenser oxyrinchus)
Size: Up to 14 feet
Seasons: Spring-Summer
Habitat: Tidal Delaware River
Description: Huge fish with bony plates down its back and a long snout
European Carp
(Cyprinus carpio)
Size: Can grow upwards of 2 feet long and 20 lb
Seasons: Year-round
Habitat: Found in nearly all aquatic habitats in Philadelphia
Description: Bulky-looking brown fish, often with a brown/olive back and fishnet pattern from the scale outlines.
American Shad
(Alosa sapidissima)
Size: 8-30 inches
Seasons: Early summer
Habitat: Philadelphia undammed creeks and rivers
Description: Silvery fish with a relatively small head. Its mouth sits at the end of its snout, and its jaws are the same length.
Striped Bass
(Morone saxatilis)
Size: 2-3 feet long
Seasons: Spring
Habitat: tidal stretches of Philadelphia rivers
Description: Silvery fish with thin, dark stripes down the sides
American Eel
(Anguilla rostrata)
Size: Usually 1.5-2 feet, can grow upwards of 4 feet long.
Seasons: Year-Round
Habitat: Philadelphia's rivers and creeks where dams do not prevent their movement
Description: Fish with a long, snake-like body
Northern Snakehead
(Channa argus)
Size: Can grow over two feet long
Seasons: Year-round
Habitat: Found in weedy, shallow water
Description: long-bodied fish with dark, well-defined dark brown spots on a lighter background. It has a long anal fin (unlike bowfin) and a long, un-split dorsal fin (unlike burbot).
Largemouth Bass
(Micropterus salmoides)
Size: Usually up to 16 inches
Seasons: Year-round
Habitat: Ponds, lakes, and other slow water
Description: Green fish with a dark stripe or row of splotches along its sides. Deep notch in between sections of the dorsal fin.
Smallmouth Bass
(Micropterus dolomieu)
Size: Usually up to 12 inches
Seasons: Year-round
Habitat: Rocky sections of Philadelphia creeks and rivers
Description: Brown with darker bars along the sides. Notch separating dorsal fin sections are not as deep as in largemouth bass.
Bluegill
(Lepomis microchiris)
Size: Up to 4 inches
Seasons: Year-round
Habitat: Ponds, lakes, and other slow water
Description: Flat, round body shape. Brown or greenback fading to white or copper color on the belly. Metallic blue-green gill cover
Mummichog
(Fundulus heteroclitus)
Size: About 3 inches
Seasons: Year-round
Habitat: Prefers estuary and tidal waterways in Philadelphia
Description: small tan fish with light bar markings on its sides
Banded Killifish
(Fundulus diaphanus)
Size: 2 - 4 inches
Seasons: Year-round
Habitat: Shallow, quiet water throughout Philadelphia
Description: long-bodied with silvery sides marked with dark bars