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SpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It AgainOceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - OceanographicRiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at allOceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild PopulationsSpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for ConservationOceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray AreaSpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow ReductionsFisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-NicolaIndiaHilsa production dropped 26% in five years, fisheries minister tells parliamentSpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It AgainOceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - OceanographicRiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at allOceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild PopulationsSpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for ConservationOceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray AreaSpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow ReductionsFisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-NicolaIndiaHilsa production dropped 26% in five years, fisheries minister tells parliament
EveryFish

Perches, basses and snappers

Snappers, groupers, sea bass, perch, pomfret and the barramundi. 12 fish on EveryFish so far.

Perches, basses, snappers and their relatives are spiny-finned fish: the front of their dorsal fin is held up by sharp spines, their scales are rough-edged and their pelvic fins sit far forward. For long they were grouped in one vast order, Perciformes, with thousands of species; DNA studies have since split the group, but the name perch-like fish remains in use. Many of the world's best-known food and sport fish belong here.

Groupers, snappers and croakers

Groupers are heavy reef predators that swallow prey whole; many start life female and become male as they grow, and gather in great numbers to spawn, which makes them easy to overfish. Snappers are prized food fish of warm seas. Croakers make drumming sounds with their swim bladders, and the swim bladder of some, such as the ghol of India's west coast and the totoaba of Mexico, is sold dried in East Asia for very high prices, which has driven overfishing.

Bhetki, pomfret and bass

The barramundi, or Asian sea bass, called bhetki in Bengal, lives in rivers, estuaries and coasts from India to Australia and is farmed in ponds and cages. The silver pomfret, a flat, silvery fish of the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, is one of the most valued fish in India and was declared the state fish of Maharashtra in 2023. Largemouth bass is the most popular sport fish of the United States, and European perch and sea bass are common in Europe.

Famous perch-like fish

Nile perchA huge predator of African lakesLargemouth bassAmerica's favourite sport fish

Still to be written: Barramundi, Pampus argenteus, Atlantic goliath grouper, Blackspotted croaker, European perch, European seabass.

Further reading

WaterRivers and lakesEstuaries and mangrovesCoasts and shelvesCoral reefsOpen oceanDeep seaPolar and cold seasCaves and springsBetween sea and river
UseFood fishFarmedAquarium fishSport fishingCulture and faithVenomous or dangerousInvasiveScience and research
OrderBest knownA to ZOldest firstNewest firstBy size
🇺🇸 United States and 2 morePumpkinseed A small freshwater fish native to eastern North America, known for its bright colours and red ear flap.Perch-like · Rivers and lakes · 1793 🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreBlack crappie A spotted freshwater sunfish native to North America, prized by anglers for its sport and table fare.Perch-like · Rivers and lakes · 1856 🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreGreen sunfish A small, aggressive freshwater fish native to North America, known for its blue-green colour and invasive potential in nPerch-like · Rivers and lakes 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreSauger A freshwater perch species native to North American rivers.Perch-like · Rivers and lakes · 1834 🇹🇭 Thailand and 3 moreSiamese tigerfish A critically endangered freshwater perch from Indochina.Perch-like · Rivers and lakes · 1998 🇨🇳 China and 1 moreMandarin fish Freshwater predatory perch native to East AsiaPerch-like · Rivers and lakes · 1855 🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreBluegill A common North American sunfish known for its blue gill covers and popularity with anglers.Perch-like · Rivers and lakes · 1854 🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreRuffe A small, aggressive freshwater fish native to Eurasia that has become a major invasive pest in North America.Perch-like · Rivers and lakes · 1758 🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreRock bass A small, red-eyed freshwater sunfish native to North America.Perch-like · Rivers and lakes 🇺🇸 United StatesCrappie Two species of North American freshwater sunfish prized by anglers for sport and food.Perch-like · Rivers and lakes

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly digest

Every Monday: the fish of the day, new pages on EveryFish, and the conferences and anniversaries of the week ahead.