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About This Quiz
Were you aware that fishes are known to be the oldest aquatic vertebrates found around the world, having a fossil record spanning over 500 million years? Today, fishes can be found in an endless array of places: lakes, streams, rocky shores, reefs, kelp forests, ponds, oceans, estuaries and under sea ice, to name a few. When it comes to freshwater fish, there are thousands of different types. (Over 15,000, to be more precise.)
Freshwater fish species can vary greatly from country to country, not to mention from state to state. Their size, color, diet and even behavior help fishers and fish enthusiasts identify what type of fish they’re dealing with. Fish are unique and differ greatly from one to the other. Some of them you might know very well, especially if you go out fishing regularly or have an appetite for fish. But as you put the names of a few fish in your catch-and-eat bucket list (or perhaps just the eat bucket list), how well do you actually know your fish? Take this quiz and test your scales... I mean, skills.
Largemouth bass
The range of this fish within North America extends from the St. Lawrence River, through the Great Lakes, by the Hudson Bay and into the Mississippi River. And let's admit it, it's a pretty good looking fish!
Australian bass
Barcoo grunter
Chinook salmon
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Channel catfish
Alligator gar
Bull trout
Rainbow trout
The name Rainbow trout describes their shining colors on their skin. They're also known as redband trouts, because of the pinkish line across their bodies.
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Bluegill
Bluegill is one of the most popular food and game fishes. This fish can be found in numerous freshwater habitats throughout the western United States and other parts of the world.
Walleye
Humpback chub
Lake sturgeon
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Crappie
Whitebass
Yellow perch
Walleye
Its name derives from a special pigment layer located in its eye that can reflect light. This helps the fish when it navigates dark and murky waters.
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Redfin bully
Orfe
Machinaw
Crappie
This fish is believed to be native to the eastern United States and Canada. However, due to transplantation, it can be easily found all throughout the United States.
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Northland mudfish
Perch
Salmonidae
Muskellunge
Most commonly known as The Muskie, this fish is the largest member in the pike species. It tends to grow 22-39 inches long, hence its weight!
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Brook trout
Displaying a beautiful array of colors, the brook trout is the only trout native to much of eastern America. It favors coldwater streams and lakes.
Steelhead
Brown trout
Sockeye salmon
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Blue catfish
Channel catfish
Their “barbels” help these fish find food in dark waters. They also have taste buds all over the surface of their body, which is helpful for when looking for tasty food.
Barcoo grunter
Mangrove jack
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Crappie
Smallmouth bass
This fish loves clear water and cold rivers. Its many nicknames just go to show how popular it is throughout the United States.
Black flounder
Brown trout
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Khaki grunter
Cherry barb
Killifish
Northern pike
This fish is a great predator thanks to its long, flattened snout and sharp teeth. It's also pretty big, especially the female pike, which can weigh more than 18 pounds.
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Barramundi
Barramundi are also known as Asian sea bass. They’re distantly related to the African Nile perch.
May River cod
Pacific shortfin eel
Yabby
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Lungfish
Northern saratoga
Chinook salmon
Its nickname alludes to its huge size, with the world record standing at 126 pounds. Although it likes to migrate, once it hatches, this fish will remain in fresh water for a length of time depending on the temperature of the water.
Brook char
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Pollack
Panfish
Ling
Common carp
This fish is omnivorous but can also be herbivorous. Although it likes aquatic plants, it prefers to look for insects and worms at the bottom of waters. It's a messy eater!
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Arctic grayling
Atlantic sturgeon
Freshwater drum
Mature males are able to grunt, thanks to a special set of muscles in the body cavity. The muscles tremble, touch the swim bladder, and emit the grunting.
Bloater
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Rainbow fish
Spotted flagtail
Mangrove jack
Sometimes this fish is also confused with the red bass. It's strong, with some of the biggest measuring over 21 inches.
Lungfish
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Spotted flagtail
This fish originates in South American countries. It eats soft-leaved plants, though occasionally ventures to find plants with firmer leaves.
Rainbow fish
Sooty grunter
Sleepy cod
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Welch's grunter
Jungle perch
Silver perch
An Australian native fish, the silver perch is classified in the Terapontidae family, hence why it’s confused with grunters. Adult silver perch are omnivorous and feed on small prey, including worms and crustaceans.
Australian bass
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Smallmouth buffalo
Blueback herring
Alligator gar
Its alligator-like snout gives this species its name. It can grow to be as big as 10 feet, and is known as one of the largest freshwater fishes in North America.
Black flounder
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Tilapia
Salmon
Shortjaw kokopu
Hybrid bass
Similar to the white bass, members of this species differ from each other thanks to stripes along the sides and back. Some of its other nicknames include "sunshine bass" and "palmetto bass."
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Razorback sucker
Rio Grande silvery minnow
This species used to be abundant throughout the Rio Grande and Pecos basins. An herbivore, it mainly feeds on plants and benthic macroinvertebrates.
Striped bass
Paddlefish
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White bass
Its color pattern ranges from silvery-white to light green. It's easily identified thanks to its mostly black back and pale stripes that run along its belly.
Tarndale bully
Mackinaw
Lamprey
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Golden trout
Sockeye salmon
Westslope Cutthroat Trout
Though associated with Montana, this fish has a historical range that includes the upper Missouri drainage. Due to its declining numbers, the Westslope Cutthroat Trout is currently listed as "threatened" under the Species Risk Act.
Chinook salmon
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Stokells Smelt
Torrentfish
This fish likes to live in swift white rapids of stony rivers and streams. It's able to anchor itself to riverbeds thanks to its flat head and large pectoral fins.
Koaro
Inanga
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Apache trout
Chum salmon
Yellow perch
This fish can be quickly identified thanks to its green to yellow-gold color. It has six to eight dark, vertical lines extending from the back to under the lateral line.
Comanche Springs Pupfish
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Mountain whitefish
This fish has a whitefish cylindrical body, similar to the trout and salmon. It can be distinguished from other similar fish, such as the pikeminnows, due to an adipose fin on its back, near the tail.
American eel
Kokanee salmon
Bloomfield River cod
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Arctic grayling
The Artic grayling fish has many different colorings, which often change depending on the stream its located in. Its dorsal fins are one of its most colorful body parts, usually fringed in red and dotted with a spread of aqua and purple spots.
Brown mudfish
Catfish
Crans bully
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Inanga
Lowland Longjaw Galaxias
Banded kokopu
The adult banded kokopu can be distinguished from other galaxiid species by the soft perpendicular bands that run along their sides and over their back. They can grow to be over seven inches.
Chatham mudfish
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Apache trout
Neon tetra
The blue horizontal strip across their body makes it visible in dark waters. A common fish to buy, it can grow to be roughly one inch in length.
Steelhead
Australian bass
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Grayling
Grass carp
Grey mullet
This fish is identified from other mullets due to the lack of bright yellow eyes. Its oily flesh makes it a valuable food fish, hence its worldwide distribution.
Mosquitofish
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Sea mullet
Sooty grunter
Yellowbelly
Koi carp
This fish can sport an endless array of colors. It can be identified thanks to their elongated, tubular body and flat head.
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Orfe
It's similar to a goldfish, except for its torpedo-like body shape. It has a yellowish orange color, often accompanied with black spots on the head and silvery flanks.
Bignose galaxias
Brook char
Estuarine triplefin
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Goldfish
Rudd
This fish is often confused with the roach fish. However, it can be distinguished by the position of its dorsal fin, which is situated further back, and their bluish-green back with silvery-white sides.
Wels catfish
Huchen
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Silver carp
Shortfin eel
Upland bully
Yelloweye mullet
Their eyes give it away! The Yelloweye mullet fish has distinct yellow eyes and a greenish-brown body with brown fins.
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Discus
Guppy
Robert Lechmere Guppy, a researcher with no scientific background, is credited for discovering this fish. This fish also goes by “the millionfish” and “the rainbow fish.”
Eel-tailed catfish
Bluegill
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Mackinaw
Striped bass
Mosquitofish
Yes, really. It mainly eats mosquitoes! This fish was introduced to many countries as pest control thanks to its diet choices.
Chum salmon
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Ammersee kilch
Muge
Common bream
This fish is primarily found throughout Europe and nearby Asia. It's very common in Irish water and likes to reside in lowland rivers and lakes.
Vairon
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Reedfish
Its body shape can make it look like a water snake. Hence, this fish is also called a ropefish. It's more commonly found in slow-flowing rivers and standing waters.
Loach catfish
Banded corydoras
Caracha
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Goldfish
Zebra pleco
Golden dwarf sucker
Panaque
It is one of the few fish that digests wood. Panaque are large freshwater fish forming part of the taxonomic family Loricariidae, a large group of catfishes.
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