South African Freshwater Angling Fish Species List
All The Freshwater Fish That Occur In South African Inland Waters
South
Africa has one of the most diverse freshwater fisheries in the World and
all sorts of fish species inhabit the lakes, dams, weirs, streams,
rivers and ponds in South Africa. South Africa is home to some of the
best Specimen Carp anglers in the world and has tremendously talented
fly fisherman who target Yellowfish, Mudfish and Trout species. South
Africa is home to well over 150 species of freshwater fish, quite a
large number if you think about it!
How Many Freshwater Fish Species Are There In South Africa?
There are over 150 species of fish that occur in the freshwater systems of South Africa. Among these species are Carp, Trout, Yellowfish, Mudfish, Kurper, Tilapia, Barbel and Tigerfish... You will rarely find a body of flowing or still water in South Africa that does not have any freshwater fish species in it! Freshwater fish depend heavily on their natural habitats in order to breed, eat and function properly. A slight change in the environment around them can cause a lot of damage to the overall population of fish. It is vitally important that we try and protect their habitats and the numerous fish species as about 30 or more of these South African fish are endangered. The list of all these species is below: (The list below is in no particular order)... Pictures of freshwater fish
See Saltwater Fish List...
South African Freshwater |
Fish Species List |
| Lungfish | Barnards Rock Catfish |
| Bulldog | Clanwilliam Rock Catfish |
| Oxeye Tarpon | Common Rock Catfish |
| Longfin Eel | Natal Mountain Catfish |
| Shortfin Eel | Common (Stargazer) Mountain Catfish |
| African Mottled Eel | Makriel (Silver Catfish) |
| Giant Mottled Eel | Barbel (Sharptooth Catfish) |
| Estaurine Round Herring | Bluntooth Catfish |
| Southern Kneria | Snake Catfish |
| River Sardine | Penant Tailed Suckermouth |
| Southern Barred Minnow | Incomati Suckermouth |
| Breede River Redfin | Phongolo Suckermouth |
| Berg River Redfin | Sawfin Suckermouth |
| Eastern Cape Redfin | Shortspine Suckermouth |
| Smallscale Redfin | Lowveld Suckermouth |
| Fiery Redfin | Brown Squeker |
| Slender Redfin | Cape Galaxias |
| Maloti Minnow | Brown Trout |
| Chubbyhead Barb | Rainbow Trout |
| Redtail Barb | Brook Charr |
| Marico Barb | Spotted Killfish |
| Amatola Barb | Rainbow Killfish |
| Treur River Barb | Johnston's Topminnow |
| Broadstriped Barb | Natal Topminnow |
| Barotose Barb | Striped Topminnow |
| Line Spotted Barb | Mosquito Fish |
| Shortfin Barb | Guppy |
| Sidespot Barb | Swordtail |
| Goldie Barb | Bluegill Sunfish |
| Longbeard Barb | Common Bluegill |
| Hyphen Barb | Largemouth Bass |
| Bowstripe Barb | Smallmouth Bass |
| East Coast Barb | Black Bass |
| Beira Barb | Spotted Bass |
| Threespot Barb | Perch |
| Clanwilliam Redfin | Southern Mouthbrooder |
| Twee Rivier Redfin | Orange-fringed River Bream |
| Orangefin Barb | Canary Kurper |
| Namaqua Barb | Lowveld Largemouth |
| Border Barb | Vlei Kurper (Banded Tilapia) |
| Rosefin Barb | Redbreast Tilapia |
| Straightfin Barb | Mozambique Tilapia |
| Papermouth | Black Tilapia |
| Plumb Barb | Nile Tilapia |
| Clanwilliam Sawfin | Israeli Tilapia |
| Berg Breede River Whitefish | Blackspot Climbing Perch |
| Vaal-Orange Largemouth Yellowfish | Manyspined Climbing Perch |
| Vaal-Orange Smallmouth Yellowfish | Eastern Cape Rocky |
| Kwazulu Natal Yellowfish | Cape Kurper |
| Bushveld Small Scale Yellowfish | Zambezi Shark |
| Clanwilliam Yellowfish | Smalltooth Sawfish |
| Lowveld Large Scale Yellowfish | Bald Glassy |
| Inkomati Chiselmouth | Slender Glassy |
| Moggel | Longspine Glassy |
| Orange River Mudfish | Cape Silverside |
| Loskop Dam Mudfish | Flathead Mullet |
| Tugela Labeo | Freshwater Mullet |
| Clanwilliam Sandfish | Large Scale Mullet |
| Rednose Labeo | Longarm Mullet |
| Silver Labeo | Striped Mullet |
| Purple Labeo | Freshwater Pipefish |
| Redeye Labeo | Shortail Pipefish |
| Leadan Labeo | River Bream |
| Mirror Carp | Southern Churchill |
| Common Carp | Checked Goby |
| Grass Carp | Sibayi Goby |
| Silver Carp | River Goby |
| Common Koi | Tank Goby |
| Common Goldfish | Burrowing Goby |
| Tench | Freshwater Goby |
| Imberi | Golden Sleeper |
| Striped Robber | Broadhead Sleeper |
| Tigerfish | Dusky Sleeper |
The information for this table was obtained from South Africa Fish & Fishing...
