>>2838107 (OP) >Yknow god could have just made boring rivers with chub n catfish
That was the majority of USA before wypipo came
Bluegill and bass are only native to the Mississippi drainage, they have been introduced everything else. Most gamefish actually.
It's a really interesting topic to dive into how our fish communities changed over the centuries.
My only tangibly related intelligent comment for the thread is my vocal appreciation for what an enormous N. American cultural contribution Guppy Breeding has been.
Guppies are native to the new world, in their native environment are kind of a drab unassuming minnow, but a bunch of enthusiasts from the 1800's turned it into an aquarium fish that rivals some of the most stunning goldfish of ancient China.
>>2838113 >Bluegill and bass are only native to the Mississippi drainage, they have been introduced everything else.
True, but there are rainbow trout, brook trout, lake trout, cutthroat, pike, walleye, etc. besides bass and bluegill, and the aforementioned species don't all overlap.
>>2838142
North America actually has dozens of excellent aquarium species especially in the temperate regime, and in some areas this would enable some species to come off of the endangered list. You don't need the rainbow of colors to appreciate the fish. North American native fish are severely under rated, most people don't know they exist and some are endangered.