Details
Perca fluviatilis
A widespread freshwater perch of Europe and northern Asia, marked by greenish sides, dark vertical bars, and reddish fins.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
Lives in lakes, ponds, slow rivers, and brackish waters, often near vegetation, logs, or rocks. It has established in some introduced regions.
The body is deep and laterally compressed. Dark bars cross the yellow-green sides, and the pelvic and anal fins are orange to red.
Young fish school, while larger adults become more solitary. They hunt around structure during daylight.
It eats small crustaceans, aquatic insects, and fish. Larger perch become increasingly predatory.
In spring, females lay ribbon-like egg strands over plants or branches. The gelatinous strands protect the eggs.
It is a popular sport fish. Introduced populations can increase predation pressure on native small fishes.
