The Fishes of Cleveland: Pt 2
A tour of NEO’s lesser known fish species
Nature’s Sideshow
Now let’s have some fun visiting nature’s fun-house sideshow by exploring the many ODDITIES of the Cleveland area streams… Hurry hurry, step right up… right here you see the scary looking… mottled sculpin. The sculpin is a small but voracious eater, which, like darters, are bottom dwelling fish who never turn away from the chance to lunge up and swallow an unsuspecting baby minnow. Sculpin have larger mouths than most small fishes so this is quite easy for this little guy. Against the stream bottom, the sculpin’s camouflage can fool even the sharpest eye. The easiest way to describe the sculpin is that it has the body of a darter with the head of a toad, even resembling a bull dog. This description may sound silly, but when you actually see the fish, it will make sense!
Brook Lamprey are another strange fish. Lamprey are one of the native fishes that have been swimming around since before the dinosaurs, and have changed little in millions of years. Resembling eels, lamprey play an interesting role in the underwater environment by preying off of sick and dying fishes. By doing this, the lamprey help to keep the overall fish population strong and healthy by “removing” those sick fish that may spread disease to others. They literally attach themselves to the weaker fish with their jawless and sucker-like mouth and suck fluids from their prey, eventually killing them. I guess you can call them the “Draculas” of the creek!
The lamprey is different from all fish because it is actually jawless and slithers along the bottom of the stream like a snake searching for food. Certain native lamprey species are endangered in Ohio and are another excellent indicator of cleaner water quality. Like most fishes that are either threatened or endangered, loss of habitat and poor water quality contribute to their declining numbers.
Continuing with nature’s sideshow, the Cuyahoga Watershed and other Cleveland area streams are home to Madtom catfish. Madtoms are small catfish usually inhabiting grassy and weedy river and stream banks in shallow, moderately calm waters. They are very small fish usually found under five inches and can deliver a nasty sting if handled improperly. The Stonecat Madtom is one example of a madtom indigenous to our region.
Yet another oddity lurking in the hills are the stickleback minnows. Sticklebacks are small, elongate fishes, olive green and yellowish in color with small spines jutting up from their backs. They are a distant relative of the saltwater seahorses and pipe fishes, and resemble a little wind up bathtub toy, as they propel through the water with great precision, stopping instantly in mid-water like a helicopter hovering in midair! During spawning season, sticklebacks become little carpenters with fins. Carrying in their mouths, they will actually move small detritus (sticks, leaves, stones, and other small debris) to a safe spot, where a family nest can be constructed and guarded! The Brook Stickleback is a commonly known stickleback in Greater Cleveland/N.E. Ohio.
Lake Erie Monster… LAKE STURGEON????
The sturgeon is another ancient element of the local aquatic fish heritage dating back to the last Ice Age. It is long and shark-like with an armor-like covering instead of scales and is listed as a state endangered species. But, while it has long been believed by many wildlife professionals to be virtually absent from Lake Erie due to habitat loss and over-fishing in the late 1800s, recent reports on sightings and catchings — some official, some unofficial — suggest the fish is either making a comeback or finding its way into Lake Erie via locations in the Great Lakes region where populations are more stable.
When overfishing occurred, millions of pounds of sturgeon were taken out of Lake Erie because they were considered to be a nuisance that damaged fishing nets. Like firewood, the fishes were thrown into piles and burned. Later, a market was discovered for them, particularly for their roe, so millions more were taken from the waters. This practice continued until the early 1900s. And, in less than twenty years, they were almost extinct! It is sad enough that protection of this fish for sheer environmental reasons was not in the language of any laws at the time. Moreover, from even a sport perception, to not foresee any conservation needs for this fish is laughable. Why? Can you imagine what would be more challenging for fishing fun? An 8″ bass or an 8′ sturgeon?!
The Eastern Burbot is another odd-looking fish that calls Lake Erie native waters. It is an elongate fish with adults ranging from 16″ to 32″ in length. If you could cross the shape of a carving knife, catfish and eel into one fish, you would have the burbot. The burbot has a coloration that is brown to olive mottled brown. It prefers deeper and cooler waters. It is the only freshwater member of the codfish family and is a relic of Lake Erie’s glacial past.
Lastly, let us not forget the gars. Short-nosed and long-nosed. Gar fish are another group of fish that have changed little since the days of dinosaurs! If an alligator could do it’s best impression of a fish, it would look like a gar fish. In fact, one gar fish, although not found in Cleveland area waters, is appropriately named the alligator gar — a gar fish that has historically been known to reach a length of 12 feet! Short-nosed and long-nosed gar, however, are found in the larger deeper rivers in the Cleveland area such as the Grand River region in backwater pools and along quiet banks where there is heavy weedy vegetation. They also are native to certain areas and habitats in Lake Erie. They are passive predators who feed on other small fish. Gars often swim just under the surface of calmer waters basking in sunlight. Most gars reach a maximum length of 3 feet.
Finally, let us finish up our tour of Fishes Of Cleveland waters taking a brief look at the popular SUNFISH FAMILY. [Pictured above: L to R – Lake Sturgeon, Shortnose Gar, Burbot, Longnose Gar.]
Not all sunfish are “bluegill!”
The following covers the most familiar fishes of the sunfish family, which are also found in certain waters of the Cuyahoga River Watershed, Greater Cleveland/N.E. Ohio, and in Lake Erie. In North America, this group of fishes comprises roughly 30 species. Many anglers mistakenly refer to various species of sunfish as bluegill, when in fact, bluegill are just one particular species of sunfish. For example, one who is fishing may refer to what is actually the brightly colored central long ear sunfish or the pumpkinseed sunfish as a bluegill. Looking closer, however, there are distinct differences.
The sunfish have all the earth-toned colors that seem to emulate and mimic the very same colors of the Autumn time woodlands to which they are indigenous. If you happen to enjoy fishing, examine the differences between these fishes in your catch. If you are catching and releasing, be sure not to handle a fish with dry hands, as this irritates their slime layer. The “slime layer” is a protective thin smooth coating over the body of fishes which helps to protect them from infection and disease.
Some common types of sunfish similar in appearance — but which are not all bluegill — are rock bass, warmouth sunfish, red ear/shell cracker sunfish (named because of this fishes’ appetite for small snails), orange spotted sunfish, (native to western Lake Erie/Maumee Watershed), northern longear sunfish, pumpkinseed sunfish, black crappie and green sunfish. Sunfish prefer habitats ranging from weedy shallows to open pools in a particular river system or lake. Sunfish, from an aquarist’s perspective, are like the North American version of the ever-popular chiclids raised in home aquaria. [Pictured above: top L to R – Pumpkinseed, Warmouth. 2nd row L to R – Orange spotted sunfish, Green sunfish. Bottom row – Black crappie.]
Let’s Go Home Now…
Well, there you have it, an introductory tour to some of the “Fishes Of Cleveland!” If your interest in exploring fish in the metro area and beyond has been “baited,” learn more about what you can do to keep our local lakes and streams healthy and clean. Contact your state wildlife division to learn more, or consider joining their “Adopt-A-Stream” or “Adopt-A-Beach” program. You can find much of this information at Gardens Under Glass in The Galleria complex in downtown Cleveland. You may also want to contact The North American Native Fishes Association for a perspective in “fish watching” and other conservation initiatives regarding North American fishes.
There are other components of this region’s unique wildlife assembly that deserve just as much attention to conservation as the more familiar ones. To lose these local species of fish through habitat loss and water quality neglect is to lose the clean water and life support systems that ultimately support our own lives. We also stand to lose an integral and delicate part of our region’s unique diverse natural heritage. I hope that this article has helped to promote a better respect for our local waters and aquatic wildlife habitats in general. For in them there is so much to learn, inspire and stimulate the imagination… while having fun doing so!
You can identify all of these native fishes in the Peterson’s Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes. Also see The North American Native Fishes Association at http://NANFA.org to learn more about native fishes in our region and North America.
Illustrations © Emily S. Damstra.
To view the Fishes of Cleveland: Part One, click here.
Robert Carillio is a former Ohio Regional Contact for The North American Native Fishes Association, avid self-taught naturalist, native fish enthusiast/advocate of 23 years, and volunteer for Gardens Under Glass in downtown Cleveland. For information on field trips to local streams, please contact Robert at riverlover33@yahoo.com.
Available now: Get the free Cool Cleveland app for your iPhone, iPad & iPod Touch by clicking here.
[Click here to return to the current issue of Cool Cleveland]