the sun-perches gave a home mainly in the central and eastern North America is near relatives of our real perches. its total-spread stretches Niederkaliforniens and big areas in the Rocky Mountains from the southern Canada over the entire USA under gap as far as after North-Mexico. Some the altogether approximately 25 types, as the trout-perch, the black-perch and the ordinary sun-perch, was introduced also to Europe and into other areas.
Habitat Sun-perches primarily live in sweet-waters with sandy ground, where it prefers herself in the quieter, verkrauteten shore-zones detain. Some types swim at estuaries and lagoons also in the Brackwasser.
Food The without exception predatory sun-perches are not very choosy in the selection of its food. they carry off particularly fish, frogs, tadpoles, snails, worms, small-cancers and water-insects. Also in captivity, the bigger types take only living-feed.
Brood-care All sun-perches go in for brood-care. During the early-summery combination-time fans and digs in the protection of stones and water-plants the male fish spawn-pits. Some types paper the spawn-pit with plant-sharing finely neatly, others on the other hand pours an embankment ring around the nest. Before the actual spawn-act, vehement love-games occur, with what above all the females glow in the most beautiful rainbow-colors. The nest, that can contain 1000 and more eggs, is guarded by the male afterwards; only with the black-perch, both sexes take part in the brood-care.
Sun-perches i. e. S. (Type Lepomis) The sun-perches i. e. S. is marked through a häutige extension of the upper gill-cover-edge, the so-called "ear." This ear is especially clearly distinctive with the Großohrigen sun-perch (Lepomis megalotis, until 20 cm). Further more known types are the ordinary sun-perch (L). gibbosus, until 20 cm, the Greens party sun-perch or grass-perch, L. cyanellus, until 20 cm, as well as the red-breast-sun-perch (L). auritius, until 20 cm, with which the ear is colored notably ebony.
From the three last-named types, that were exposed to all in Central Europe, however only the ordinary sun-perch could become custom considerably. it is caught particularly in the lower reaches of the Danube and in ponds and alto-arms between Rhine and Oder. The continuances of the two other types are largely unknown especially since they probably frequently are confused with the ordinary sun-perch. This can become dangerously in seas and ponds of the brood of other usefulness-fishings with local increase.
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