Freshwater

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• Longnose Sucker

  Recent attempts to find longnose suckers in Connecticut have failed.

• Silversides

  Two estuarine/marine species of silversides exist in Connecticut. Both are schooling fish that occasionally enter freshwater areas of coastal rivers and streams.

• Fathead Minnow

  A popular baitfish, fathead minnows can be found at low abundance almost anywhere in Connecticut.

• Fallfish

  Our largest minnow species, the fallfish, is misidentified by many as trout or "dace".

• Home Aquariums

  Make a home aquarium with the beautiful native and introduced freshwater fishes of Connecticut!

• Central Mudminnow

  Although central mudminnows look superficially like minnows or killifish, they are actually more closely related to pickerel and pike.

• Atlantic Silverside

  Their abundance makes them very important forage fish for many marine predators such as striped bass, fluke and seabirds.

• Families of Connecticut Freshwater Fishes

  Learn the defining characteristics of Connecticut's freshwater fish families!

• Rainbow Smelt

  Smelt are important forage fish for large pelagic predators such as striped bass in estuaries and brown trout in lakes.

• Inland Silverside

  Also known as “tidewater” silverside. They are less common than and very difficult to distinguish from the Atlantic silverside without magnification.

• Rudd

  Not yet found in Connecticut, the Rudd has established populations in neighboring states.

• Slimy Sculpin

  Sculpins are sensitive to environmental degradation, requiring good-quality, coldwater streams to survive.

• Tessellated Darter

  Sometimes bury themselves in the sand with only eyes and tail tips exposed. Can be easily captured with small-mesh dip net or seine.

• Green Sunfish

  Introductions of green sunfish have been implicated with adverse impacts on other fish species.

• Gizzard Shad

  Gizzard shad were first observed in Connecticut during the late 1970s, apparently the result of a natural range expansion.