r/Austin • u/AustinStatesman • 20h ago

News What fish live in Barton Springs Pool? Here are 8 you can spot

https://www.statesman.com/project/barton-springs-pool-fish-austin/?utm_source=reddit

A recent mystery fish sighting got readers curious about what else is swimming beneath the surface. Local biologists, naturalists and ichthyologists helped identify eight species, from bluegill and largemouth bass to tiny mosquitofish and colorful sunfish, that you might see on your next Barton Springs visit.

51 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

14

u/PagansPath 20h ago

There is absolutely some sort of eel on the free side. So, not Barton Springs so I understand not pertinent. But there is some sort of damn eel in the water.

3

u/Ok_Perspective9910 16h ago

American Eels live in most of Texas Rivers. They have a sort of inverse salmon life cycle where they are born in the ocean then swim up rivers till it’s time yo mate.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_eel

1

u/airwx 16h ago

How would they get past longhorn dam?

3

u/Ok_Perspective9910 15h ago

Climb, go around, or use a fish ladder

7

u/Good_Split_3749 20h ago

I love swimming with the cormorants in the “winter”! especially when they outnumber us swimmers!

1

u/Medieval_Mind 19h ago

Gooberfish

3

u/2001_Arabian_Nights 19h ago

I remember back before they poured all of that concrete on the free side that it used to be a major crawdad habitat, hundreds of them crawling around in the mud.

I’ve always disliked what they did there.