Fish & Invertebrates

Size: 60 inches in length and can weigh up to 16 pounds

Diet: Larval fish, gastropods, larger finfish, frogs, toads, crabs, lobsters and worms

Lifespan:  40 years

Range: The American eel is found in the northwestern to central Atlantic Ocean and throughout the Great Lakes. They range down the Atlantic Coast of the United States, to the Gulf of Mexico, including the West Indies to Trinidad.

Predators: Sharks and bass prey upon adult eels.

Conservation Status: American eels are not listed in the IUCN Red List (World Conservation Union), but they have not been evaluated recently. They have no special Federal status. Concerns have been raised about over fishing the elver stage leaving fewer eels to reach adulthood. The American eel is also vulnerable to habitat loss through projects and pollution. In the Great Lakes, the population of American eels has been drastically reduced.

Size: 8 to 14 inches

Diet: Mollusks, crabs, urchins, algae

Lifespan: 3 to 5 years

Range: Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans

Predators: Humans, sharks, large fish – however, because the balloon fish can inflate, exposing toxic spikes, they are hard prey to catch

Conservation Status: Vulnerable, becoming endangered due to pollution and overfishing

Size: 4 to 6 inches

Diet: Algae, zooplankton, worms, small crustaceans

Lifespan: 6 to 10 years

Range: Indonesian waters of Northern Queensland, Australia and Melanesia

Predators: Sharks, eels, large fish

Conservation Status: Not threatened, however their numbers have dwindle significantly because of the popularity of Pixar’s Finding Nemo.

Size: 16 inches

Diet: Adults feed on aquatic plants while juveniles feed on insects.

Lifespan: 20 years

Range: Coastal plains region of southeastern parts of the United States, such as Virginia and Alabama.

Predators: Muskrats, alligators, and humans

Conservation Status: The river cooter is subject to environmental impacts, including unnatural flooding regimes due to upstream dams, aquatic pollution and intentional killing for sport by shooting (called “plinking”) cooters from basking sites.

Size: 5 to 8 feet long, 40 to 50 pounds

Diet: Invertebrates, fish and small mammals

Lifespan: 15 years

Range: Electric eels live exclusively in the northwestern region of South America, inhabiting both the Orinoco and Amazon basins.

Predators: There are very few species that will attempt to prey upon an electric eel.

Conservation Status: This species is listed as “Of Least Concern” on the IUCN Red List. They are quite abundant due to large brood sizes and a very good defense against predators.

Size: 16 to 24 inches

Diet: Omnivore; algae and a variety of invertebrates.

Lifespan: 10 years

Range: Atlantic Ocean off of Florida, the Bahamas, and even Brazil. French Angelfish can also be found amongst the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.

Predators: Larger species of fish and humans.

Conservation Status:The French angelfish is labeled as “of least concern”. This is because there are no documented population decline of this species in nature.

Size: 10 to 300 pounds, 3 feet to 7 feet in length

Diet: Insect larvae, crayfish, snails, and small fish

Lifespan: Males live to about 50 years, while females can live up to 150 years

Range: Great Lakes, Mississippi River, Hudson River and the St. Lawrence River basin. Lake sturgeons are intentionally stocked in lakes in Vermont and Wisconsin.

Predators: Humans (for caviar)

Conservation Status: The IUCN (World Conservation Union) has recently downgraded the lake sturgeon from threatened to a species of least concern.

The Aquarium of Niagara is proud to be a part of NYS DEC Lake Sturgeon Restoration Program. Lake sturgeon are born at a hatchery and then placed under our care until they are strong enough to be released into Lake Ontario to help the lake sturgeon population.

Size:  12 to 15 inches in length and weighs about 2 pounds

Diet: Crabs, small fish, and various shrimp

Lifespan: 15 years

Range: Native to the Indo-Pacific near shore area and around coral reefs. Due most likely to release by hobbyists, the red lionfish is now found from Long Island to Florida in bays, estuaries and harbors as well as along beaches and coral reefs. This invasive species has also been reported off the San Francisco coastline.

Predators: Predators of adult red lionfish are unknown. Sharks, especially sand tigers, may eat them, as they have been known to eat venomous fish.

Conservation Status: The lionfish is not listed by the IUCN (World Conservation Union) as threatened or vulnerable. Any wild occurrences in the United States should be reported to NOAA. It is not likely that the introduction of this fish to United States waters can be reversed.

The lionfish is an invasive species and with their increasing population, they are destroying ecosystems. There is a huge push to hunt lionfish and eat them, there are countless cookbooks on how to cook and eat lionfish.

Size: 0.75 to 1.5 inches

Diet: The most common prey of the poison arrow dart frog is an ant but they also eat a variety of soil mites, springtails, tiny beetles, fly larvae, fruit flies and small spiders.

Lifespan: 12 to 20 years

Range: Rainforests of Central and South America

Predators: They have one natural predator, the fire-bellied snake, Leimadophis epinephelus.

Conservation Status: The poison arrow dart frog is labeled to be of least concern, but their natural habitats are destroyed by humans when deforestation occurs.

Size: Lengths of 8 to 10 inches

Diet: Omnivore; aquatic plants and animal matter

Lifespan: 20 years in the wild

Range: Mississippi River, Louisiana, Illinois, Alabama, Texas and can make their way to the Pecos River of New Mexico

Predators: Raccoons, minks, otters, foxes, and other smaller mammals.

Conservation Status: They are labeled to be of “least concern”. This species does unfortunately suffer from destruction of their natural habitats by humans.

Size: 7 inches

Diet: This species will use its snout, like a straw, to capture small crustaceans and various other small aquatic creatures.

Lifespan: One year

Range: Coasts of both North and South America. They range as far north as Cape Cod and as far south as Uruguay.

Predators: The lined seahorse has excellent camouflage and so has few predators.

Conservation Status: This seahorse is labeled as “vulnerable”. Populations have been declining partially due to commercial harvesters over collecting this species.

Size: Lengths of 3 to 6 inches

Diet: Crustaceans, mussels, clams, and oysters

Lifespan: 35 years

Range: Atlantic Ocean, ranging from the Gulf of Maine to the Gulf of Mexico

Predators: Seagulls, bottom-dwelling fish, and crabs.

Conservation Status: Populations of the Forbes sea star are currently thriving in their natural habitats. This is occurring without any help from human intervention.

Size: Female softshell turtles can grow to 24 inches, while the considerably smaller males usually only grow to 12 inches

Diet: Fish, snails, insects, amphibians and crayfish and some plant materials. They actively hunt for food and are considered ambush predators

Lifespan: 30 years

Range: From Mobile, Alabama, to Charleston, South Carolina, and all throughout Florida, except for the Florida Keys. Some species have been introduced and become well established in the southwestern United States, in Colorado and Utah.

Predators: Alligators, black bears and the Florida panther

Conservation Status: The Florida softshell turtle is neither threatened or endangered. However, softshells are exploited for trade to Asian commercial food markets.

Size: 6 to 9 feet

Diet: Octopus, squid, small fish

Lifespan: 30 years

Range: Near the equator, tropical salt water

Predators: Sharks, barracudas

Conservation Status: Least concern, no major threats

Size: 3.5 feet in length

Diet: Crabs, various shrimp, and small fish

Lifespan: 25 years

Range: Pacific Ocean, from waters around Japan south through Indonesia and the Philippine Islands

Predators: Larger sharks

Conservation Status: This shark species is currently listed by the IUCN (World Conservation Union) as near threatened. It is more likely to become threatened, because it is fished extensively in China, Indonesia and Thailand. They are reef fishes that are dependent on a healthy reef ecosystem. Global warming, pollution and the impact of humans have affected coral reefs and the animals that live on them.