Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection
Freshwater Fishes of Connecticut
Page 5 of 8
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This is the largest killifish species in Connecticut and the least tolerant of fresh water.
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In 2003, the American shad was designated Connecticut’s “State Fish.”
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Commonly sold as bait, the golden shiner is our most common lake and pond minnow species.
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Atlantic salmon were extirpated from the Connecticut River and, despite extensive restoration efforts, self-sustaining runs do not occur.
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Blueback herring and alewives are so similar that the color of the gut lining (peritoneum) is the only sure way to tell them apart.
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The banded sunfish is listed as a Connecticut State Threatened Species. Their small size makes them vulnerable to predation by bass and other large gamefish, so they thrive only in protected, backwater areas.
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Looking a lot like other shiners gave the mimic shiner its name.
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Two native and one introduced pike species exist in Connecticut. All members of the family are predacious, primarily feeding on fish.
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The sheepshead minnow is a standard for use in many laboratory toxicity and genetics studies.
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Ninespine stickleback males build little tunnel-shaped nests out of bits of vegetation.
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Mudminnows are a small family of the Northern Hemisphere that look similar to killifish and minnows, but are actually more closely related to pike.
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Adorned with an armament of long, sharp spines, white perch are difficult for both anglers and predators to handle.
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Although relatively feeble fighters on rod and reel, walleye are an esteemed game and food fish throughout their range.
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Striped bass grow large and are arguably the most important inshore predator and sport fish in the state.
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Both marine and freshwater killifishes are distributed throughout Central and Eastern North America from southern Canada to the Yucatan, including Cuba and Bermuda.