Fish ID: Need Help w/ Panfish ID

[MarkF]

Fishing Independence Creek in Terrell Co., Texas, 26 miles So. of Sheffield. We caught a BEAUTIFUL dusty charcoal grey panfish w/ an array of vertical florescent turquoise spots. Some of the, what I believe to be younger fish, did not have well developed spots. This fish resembled in form, Blue Gill. The colors were truly amazing. Does anyone know this fish?

2nd Fish: was like a saltwater clown fish, except these aggressive little guys were black and white. The front one half was white and back half was black. They scooted around like tiny torpedoes.
Does anyone know this fish?

[pspaint]

Could the first one been some sort of hybrid? Maybe the others were some sort of exotic species that someone introduced. If you have pictures, that may help.

[biot midge]

Mark,
The first one sounds like a long-eared sunfish. Check this link and see if it looks like the fish that you caught. http://www.gamefishingguide.com/long-eared-sunfish.html
Steve

[Barry]

MarkF
It sounds like you might have caught a Rio Grande Perch.

[Gardenfish]

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl= ... s%26sa%3DX

[pspaint]

Mark, I was reading an article yesterday about the Devil's River in Texas and I think Barry's got it right...Rio Grande Perch. Still not sure about the others.

[parrotheadcrb]

The link picture is a good ole fashion redear.

[BigFlatBrook]

In the tropical fish trade, the fish in Barry's picture is known as a "Texas Cichlid". Cichlids are native to Central/South America, and the Texas Cichlid has the northernmost range. I was a fanatical tropical fish hobbyist 30 years ago.

[MarkF]

Y'all, next trip, the first weekend in August, I will FOR SURE take a camera.

Barry, it is VERY similiar but not exactly the same. The body color was a dusty charcoal grey and the spots were the most unreal turquiose that you ever saw.

I will get a picture, but you are correct, it had a the same type of body shape.

[DG]

Green sunfish have turquoise spots. Or patterns, anyway. I have a couple pics but the fish are small, only about 4" long. Mouth larger than a gill, yellow edges to fins.

There are a lot of exotic fish out there that idiots dumped from their aquaria. Who knows in warm texas water what it might be.

Dennis