See If You Can Identify These Freshwater Fish From an Image!

By: Talin Vartanian
Estimated Completion Time
4 min
See If You Can Identify These Freshwater Fish From an Image!
Image: MakiEni's photo/Moment Open/Getty Images

About This Quiz

There are many types of friendly and violent fish that inhabit the waters of the Earth. In today's quiz, we'll explore 40 awesome freshwater fish that live in the lakes, streams and headwaters of our world.

From striped bass and trout to salmon and crappies, there are a wide variety of notable freshwater fish that may sound familiar to you. For example, you might be aware of Atlantic salmon from prominent Japanese sushi restaurants. Some types of freshwater fish are also used for recreational purposes, especially sport fishing. These include the muskellunge, largemouth bass, northern pike and the smallmouth bass. Various types of freshwater fish are also threatened, while others are critically endangered. Some fish like to migrate between saltwater and freshwater, like the Atlantic salmon. Other types have also earned the right to be the official fish of certain states. An example of this would be the channel catfish, which is the state fish of Nebraska.

Even if you're not familiar with freshwater fish, don't worry. We've provided you with a helpful hint for every question on which you're stuck. All you have to do is match the picture of the fish to the applicable fish name. Do you think you can do it? Take this fish identification quiz now to find out!

Atlantic salmon
Steve Bly/Photographer's Choice RF/Getty Images
This "king of fish" is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and a variety of vitamins and minerals.
Atlantic salmon
Sea lamprey
Goldfish
Sterlet
Arctic grayling
Wiki Commons by AKSMITH
This fish features a large rainbow-like fin on top of its body and belongs to the Thymallus genus. What's it called?
Giant mottled eel
Arctic grayling
Atlantic sturgeon
American eel
American eel
The Wildlife Brothers
The _____________ comes from the Sargasso Sea and looks like a giant worm.
American shad
American eel
White sturgeon
Goldfish

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Atlantic sturgeon
cezars/E+/Getty Images
Talk about enormous! Which of these fish can grow up to 800 pounds?
Common molly
Black tetra
Atlantic sturgeon
Goldfish
Alligator gar
Michael Wood/Stocktrek Images/Stocktrek Images/Getty Images
This long fish bears the scientific name "Atractosteus spatula," otherwise known as...
European eel
Alligator gar
Beluga
Tench
Brook trout
Dennis Welsh/Moment Mobile/Getty Images
Which of these freshwater fish is part of the salmon family and can grow to almost 10 pounds?
Moray eel
Brook trout
Anguilloidei
European eel

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Chinook salmon
lightasafeather/E+/Getty Images
This fish can be found in Lake Ontario and is also known as "chrome hog."
Chinook salmon
Yellow tang
Ocean sunfish
Largehead hairtail
Apache trout
AZonTheFly
Which of these critically endangered fish has distinct black freckles all over its body?
Sterlet
Apache trout
Trench
Goldfish
Northern pike
vm/E+/Getty Images
"Esox Lucius" is the scientific name for which of the following long fish?
Halibut
Northern pike
Sole
Atlantic salmon

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Coho salmon
lightasafeather/E+/Getty Images
"Silver salmon" is the nickname given to which of the following anadromous fish?
Siberian sturgeon
Persian sturgeon
Coho salmon
Queen angelfish
Bluegill
Jennifer Idol/Stocktrek Images/Stocktrek Images/Getty Images
This fish is called "copper nose" and belongs to the Centrarchidae family. What's it called?
Kaluga
Bluegill
Russian sturgeon
Chinese sturgeon
Channel catfish
GeorgePeters/E+/Getty Images
The _____________ is the official fish of five states in the United States.
Lake sturgeon
Giant mottled eel
Piranha
Channel catfish

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Muskellunge
Wiki Commons
Some people call this fish "musky" while scientists call it "Esox masquinongy." What would you call it?
Gilt-head bream
Muskellunge
Queen angelfish
Ocean sunfish
Lake herring
ItaloLabignan
This type of fish is also called "Cisco" and belongs to the Salmonidae family.
Dabry's sturgeon
Queen angelfish
Goldfish
Lake herring
Pacific lamprey
Wiki Commons by Dino Kanlic
This parasitic creature sucks blood from various types of fish as a food source. Can you identify it?
Queen angelfish
Australian barracuda
Pacific lamprey
Sturgeon

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Lahontan cutthroat trout
Wiki Commons by Rhalden
Las Vegas isn't the only cool thing about Nevada because this state's official fish is the...
Common dentex
Piranha
Lahontan cutthroat trout
Blackspot seabream
Chum salmon
Paul Souders/Photodisc/Getty Images
Many types of coastal streams contain which of these anadromous fish?
Yellow tang
Chum salmon
Australian barracuda
Queen angelfish
Pallid Sturgeon
USFWSmidwest
You won't find any teeth on this endangered fish, which also belongs to the Acipenseridae family.
Largehead hairtail
Tigerfish
Pallid sturgeon
Piranha

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Yellow Perch
AFnS Outdoors
What is the name of this striped fish that belongs to the Perciformes order?
Pacific hagfish
Red porgy
Largehead hairtail
Yellow perch
Rio Grande silvery minnow
New Mexico PBS
This endangered fish is herbivorous and can be found in the Elephant Butte Reservoir.
Rio Grande silvery minnow
Great white shark
Stonefish
Piranha
Blueback herring
Wiki Commons
You'll find many scutes on this fish, which is also found in Nova Scotia.
Short-finned eel
Blueback herring
Beluga
Sterlet

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Bull trout
Wiki Commons
Zooplankton is a favorite snack among which of these fish that loves freezing cold lakes?
Bull trout
Cory catfish
Goldfish
Tiger pleco
Striped bass
Joseph Devenney/Photographer's Choice RF/Getty Images
You could call this grey fish "rockfish," but its patterns will tell us that it's a...
Atlantic salmon
Striped bass
Chum salmon
Huchen
Largemouth bass
Michael Wood/Stocktrek Images/Stocktrek Images/Getty Images
What is the name of this recreational sport fish that also bears the nickname "green trout?"
Chinese sturgeon
Acipenser oxyrinchus
Largemouth bass
Giant mottled eel

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American paddlefish
Kevin Schafer/Moment Mobile/Getty Images
No, it's not Pinocchio, but this long-nosed fish is one of the largest in the United States.
Trout
Tilapia
American paddlefish
Sardines
Smallmouth bass
doug4537/E+/Getty Images
This "brownie" fish is part of the sunfish family and is a popular catch for sport fishing.
Smallmouth bass
Brook trout
Brown trout
Splake
American shad
Kirk Lombard
Which of these fish has a lifespan of 13 years?
European eel
White Sturgeon
Black crappie
American shad

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Black crappie
Wiki Commons by WBeckon
This recreational fish can be found in many lakes and rivers. Are you familiar with it?
Pufferfish
Stonefish
Black crappie
Eel
Comanche Springs pupfish
Texas Wild
Which of these fish lives in freshwater springs in the state of Texas?
Comanche Springs pupfish
Sargo
Pacific hagfish
Red porgy
Walleye
Wiki Commons
This "yellow pike" fish is known for its excellent eyesight. Do you know what it is?
Striped bass
Sea bass
Sole
Walleye

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Colorado pikeminnow
Wiki Commons
Which of the following cyprinid fish is the biggest minnow in all of North America?
Pacific hagfish
Sloane's viperfish
Bastard sturgeon
Colorado pikeminnow
Devils Hole pupfish
Wiki Commons
When traveling to Nevada, you might spot these fish that only have a lifespan of 12 months.
Humpback anglerfish
Devils Hole pupfish
Pacific hagfish
Obtuse barracuda
Shortnose sucker
Another Fishing Show
This type of fish bears the nickname "Quapdo" and is currently endangered. Are you familiar with it?
Baluga
Tench
Shortnose sucker
Chinese sturgeon

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Razorback Sucker
Wiki Commons
Most of these types of fish live in Lake Mohave, Arizona. Do you know what it is?
Yelllow tang
Great barracuda
Ocean sunfish
Razorback sucker
Humpback chub
W. Perry Conway/Corbis/Getty Images
The Colorado River is home to which of the following endangered fish?
Sargo
Red porgy
Humpback chub
Orange-lined triggerfish
White bass
Wiki Commons by BenitoJuarez98
The _________ is a popular type of freshwater fish and belongs to the Morone genus.
Gilt-head bream
Ocean sunfish
White bass
Yellow tang

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Steelhead trout
Matt Champlin/Moment/Getty Images
If you can lift 55 pounds, then you can probably lift the ____________, which currently lives in Alaska.
Huchen
Pink salmon
Goldfish
Steelhead trout
Westslope cutthroat trout
gmcoop/E+/Getty Images
Another name for this freshwater fish is the black-spotted trout, but do you know its true name?
Westslope cutthroat trout
Tuna
Squid
Rainbow trout
Bloater
Wiki Commons by Servien
You could call this fish "two-eyed steak," but it's probably better to call it a...
Pacific halibut
Lingcod
Pink salmon
Bloater

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Moapa dace
Wiki Commons
Which of these cyprinid fish is critically endangered and is rather small in size?
Moapa dace
Minnow
Cod
Tilapia