Question What Kind Of Fish Is This???

[Jen1970]

Hello all! - My friend found this small guy/girl in a pond near my house being attacked by some birds. So I nursed him/her back to health, but have no idea what species he/she is. It likes flakes and dried shrimp, and is very active. I think he/she is some type of baby bass or crappie, but still no idea. Can someone help? The pond has bass/carp/and blue gills in it from my research, but he/she is till a mystery... (Central Florida)

Jen

 

[MissNoodle]

Not 100% sure but perhaps a feral cichlid?

 

[Jen1970]

Thanks so much for the reply. I have exhausted my energy trying to research online... what is a cichlid?

Do they live in ponds?

OMG! You might be right. I checked out some pics online... He is aggressive too. He killed (allegedly ) a couple other fish that I put in with him. Even a large mouth bass twice his size and a blue gill...

 

[NC122606]

OMG! You might be right. I checked out some pics online... He is aggressive too. He killed (allegedly ) a couple other fish that I put in with him. Even a large mouth bass twice his size and a blue gill...

Could you happen to get some other pictures with a clear shot of the dorsal fin? Also, mostly all cichlids are aggressive.

 

[MikeRad89]

It's a juvenile tilapia. Looks like a hybrid used for fish farming.

 

[Jen1970]

This is the best I can do... Thoughts? His water gets cloudy fast too...

Now I am royally confused... Tilapia or Ciclid?

 

[MikeRad89]

A tilapia is a cichlid. It's a tilapia hybrid - extremely common (and invasive) in Florida.

 

[Jen1970]

If he is a Tilapia, I may be able to make a tasty meal of him eventually? LOL

 

[MissNoodle]

If he is a Tilapia, I may be able to make a tasty meal of him eventually? LOL

Tilapia IS delicious lol

But i think if you get him a much, much larger tank, he could thrive and be a good pet for you. But i do believe he may get quite large.

 

[Coptapia]

Hybrid tilapia as said. I can see signs of Oreochromis and Coptodon in it, imo.