18 Types Of Fish That Can Be Found In The River (With Pictures)
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Most of the Earth is covered with water, from oceans and seas to lakes, bays and rivers. Each type of water has its own living organisms and fish species.
Ocean fish get a lot of attention, thanks in part to movies like Finding Nemo. But have you ever wondered what type of fish can be found in the river?
Today, we are going to talk about the types of fish that can be found in a river!
These Are The Types Of Fish Found In A River
Bass Fish
Bass is a name shared by many different fish, and some of them, like sea bass, live in salt water. In North American rivers, “bass” usually means the black basses, such as largemouth and smallmouth bass, which belong to the sunfish family.
Smallmouth bass are native to the St. Lawrence, Great Lakes, Hudson Bay and Mississippi River basins. Black basses have been stocked in rivers and lakes far beyond their native range.
Bream Fish
The common bream is a freshwater fish that lives in European rivers. They belong to the family Cyprinidae. Also, the common bream is the only species in the genus Abramis.
The bream has a length of 30 to 60cm even though there are some breams recorded to have a 75cm length. Breams usually weigh 2 to 4kg. The bream’s recorded maximum weight is 9.1kg and the maximum length recorded is 90cm.
The common bream lives in slow rivers, lakes, ponds and canals across Europe and western Asia. It is also found in drainages of the Black, Caspian and Aral seas.
Carp Fish
Carp are oily freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae, and most species are native to Europe and Asia. People have introduced several carp species to Africa, Australia and the United States, where some, like Asian carp, are now invasive.
Carp can grow large and live in rivers, lakes and ponds. They are an important food fish in many countries.
Catfish
Catfish include some of the largest freshwater fish alive, such as the Mekong giant catfish of Asia, the wels catfish of Europe and western Asia, and the piraíba of South America.
There are many types of catfish, and they differ in size, shape and behavior. Depending on the species, catfish eat fish, crayfish, clams, snails and insects, and large wels catfish have even been filmed catching birds.
Catfish can be found mostly in rivers. They also live in deep holes in ponds and rivers where they usually hang out and wait for food. Catfish can also be seen in creeks flowing into any body of water.
Chinook Fish
The chinook salmon is the largest species of Pacific salmon, and it belongs to the genus Oncorhynchus. Chinook have blue-green, red or purple backs and tops of their heads, with silvery sides and white bellies.
According to NOAA Fisheries, chinook in North America range from California’s Monterey Bay to the Chukchi Sea in Alaska. They also live in Asian rivers, from Japan to Russia.
Chinook hatch in freshwater streams and rivers, spend a few years feeding in the ocean, then return to their home rivers to spawn and die.
Crappie Fish
Crappies inhabit North American freshwater, and they belong to the sunfish family Centrarchidae. There are two recognized species under this genus, and they are the white crappie and black crappie.
Crappies can be found in a flat adjacent creek or river channels. The bigger crappie tends to hold in deeper water. You can also see them isolated in any weed patches, stumps, or logs.
Crappies feed year-round on small fish, crustaceans, zooplankton and insects.
Goldfish
The goldfish is a freshwater fish that belongs to the family Cyprinidae of the order Cypriniformes. Goldfish are one of the most common fish pets of humans, and you can see them in any place with an aquarium.
They are a small member of the carp family, and they are native to East Asia. There are many different goldfish breeds, and they differ in size, body, shape, color, and fin. The colors of goldfish are yellow, orange, red, brown, and black.
Goldfish are native to eastern Asia, including China, according to the USGS. Released pet goldfish now live wild in many parts of the world, including the US, where they can harm native fish. Never release a pet fish.
Guppy
The guppy, also called the millionfish, is one of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish. It belongs to the family Poeciliidae.
Guppies are native to northeastern South America and nearby Caribbean islands such as Trinidad. People have introduced them to many other countries, including the US, often to control mosquitoes or through aquarium releases.
In the wild, guppies live in streams, ponds, ditches and other shallow fresh water.
Koi Fish
Koi are colorful, ornamental carp kept in outdoor ponds and water gardens around the world. Colored koi were developed in the Niigata region of Japan, starting in the 1800s.
Koi are a domesticated form of carp, so there are no native wild koi. Escaped or released koi can survive in rivers, ponds and lakes, where they act like wild carp.
Perch Fish
Perch is a name for fish under the genus Perca. They are freshwater fish that belong to the family Percidae. There are three species of perch genus that have been recognized. They are the European perch, Balkhash perch, and Yellow perch.
Perch are carnivorous fish that can be found in freshwater ecosystems like small ponds, lakes, streams, or rivers. They love to eat smaller fish, shellfish, and some insects. Perch fish usually spawn during the springtime when female perches need to lay eggs.
Northern Pike
The northern pike is a carnivorous fish of the genus Esox, found in fresh water across the Northern Hemisphere. It is called northern pike in North America and simply pike in Britain and Ireland.
Pike are living in streams and weedy places in lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. They are ambush predators where they wait for prey and then strike at full speed. Pike inhabit any freshwater ecosystems where fish and food is abundant.
Piranha
A piranha is a member of the family Serrasalmidae. Piranhas live in South American rivers, floodplains, lakes and reservoirs, including the Amazon. Most are carnivorous or omnivorous, eating fish, fins, insects and sometimes fruit.
There are many species of piranha, and their bite can injure people. Some species are kept as pets, but they are illegal in many US states. If you are planning to buy a pet piranha, make sure to research first before getting one.
Rainbow Trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid that is native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in both Asia and North America.
Wild rainbow trout usually spawn in late winter to spring, in gravel beds of cold, clear streams. They have been stocked in rivers and lakes around the world for fishing.
Salmon
Salmon is a common name for fish that belongs in the family Salmonidae. Other fish belong to the same family of salmon as trout, char, grayling, and whitefish.
Most salmon are anadromous, which means they hatch in fresh water, migrate to the ocean to grow, and return to fresh water to spawn. Some populations, called landlocked salmon, spend their whole lives in fresh water.
Salmon are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. There are many species of salmon that have been introduced into other environments like the Great Lakes of North America and Patagonia in South America.
Tench Fish
Tench, sometimes called the doctor fish, are freshwater and brackish-water fish in the order Cypriniformes. They live across Europe and into western Asia, including the British Isles, and prefer slow-moving or still water.
Tench inhabit freshwater ecosystems, and they love to spend their time close to vegetation or patrolling gullies to look for food like snails, bloodworms, and daphnia. They usually live in rivers, ponds, and lakes.
Tilapia
Tilapia is a name for many related fish species. They are one of the most farmed fish in the world because they grow fast and have a mild taste.
The USGS lists the Nile tilapia’s native range as tropical and subtropical Africa and the Middle East. Tilapia have been introduced to many countries, including the US, often by escaping from fish farms, and they live in warm streams, ponds, rivers and lakes.
Trout
Trout are species of fish belonging to the genera Oncorhynchus, Salmo, and Salvelinus. They are closely related to salmon and char species. Trout also love to swim under freshwater ecosystems.
Trouts usually live in cool and clear streams, lakes, and rivers. They are one of the fishes that live in the river. Trout can be seen throughout North America, North Asia, and Europe.
Walleye
The walleye is a perciform fish that lives in fresh water across much of Canada and the northern United States. It is closely related to the European zander, also called the pikeperch. Large walleyes can top 30 inches (about 76 cm).
Walleyes are living in freshwater habitats like rivers, lakes, and ponds.
Are River Fish Safe To Eat?
Many people love to catch fish in rivers, and many want to eat what they catch. But is it safe?
Are river fish safe to eat? Often, yes, but not always. Fish can live in polluted water and still build up chemicals like mercury and PCBs in their bodies, so a river full of fish isn’t proof that the fish are safe to eat.
Before eating fish you catch, check for fish advisories. The EPA explains that states, territories and tribes issue advisories for local waters, which can limit how much of certain fish you should eat. Pregnant women and young children need to be especially careful.
Fish is a lean, high-protein food, and fish from clean waters can be a healthy choice.
How Do Fish Get In Rivers?
Many people assume river fish came from the ocean, but most river fish are true freshwater species that evolved in and live their whole lives in fresh water. Roughly half of all known fish species live in fresh water.
Fish spread between rivers over long periods when waterways connect, for example during floods or as rivers change course. People also move fish, by stocking them for fishing or releasing pets, which is how many non-native species got into rivers.
Some fish, like salmon, move between fresh and salt water. Salmon hatch in rivers, grow in the ocean and return to fresh water to spawn. Fish with this life cycle are called anadromous.
Final Words
Rivers are home to an amazing variety of fish, from tiny guppies to giant catfish. Keeping rivers clean, and never releasing pet fish into the wild, helps protect them for the future.
Sources
- Chinook Salmon, NOAA Fisheries
- Goldfish (Carassius auratus) Species Profile, U.S. Geological Survey
- Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Species Profile, U.S. Geological Survey
- Choose Fish and Shellfish Wisely, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
