Sometimes it’s challenging to differentiate the two organisms of different species belonging to the same family. This is because they have typical similarities between them.
White Bass and Striped Bass prevail as the same. But certainly, there are specific differences between them, and knowing those differences can give you clear identification of both.
Key Takeaways
- White bass is freshwater fish, while striped bass inhabits fresh and saltwater environments.
- White bass is smaller than striped bass, with a maximum size of around 18 inches, while striped bass can grow up to 60 inches.
- White bass has a single dark stripe along their side, whereas striped bass display multiple horizontal stripes.
White Bass vs Striped Bass
White bass has a relatively big fat trunk. Striped bass has an extended appearance. If you look closely at both of them, you can see that White bass is more round in shape while Striped bass appears more slanderous.
White bass is the fish that commonly inhabit fresh waters of large reservoirs and rivers in North America. It belongs to the temperate Bass family Moronidae.
The color of the fish is silver-white to pale green. Its back appears darker in color, while the belly part is whitish silver.
Striped bass is a fish commonly spotted in the Atlantic region of North America and islands of North America. It pertains to the family Moronidae, and it subsists as frequently utilized in fisheries and aquariums along with the United States of America.
It has a silver-colored streamlined body.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparisons | White Bass | Striped Bass |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | The scientific name of White bass is Morone chrysops. | The scientific name of Striped bass is Morone saxatilis. |
| Other names | White bass has alternate names such as sand bass or Silver bass. | Striped bass is also known by other phrases such as Rockfish, Atlantic Striped Bass, Striper, Linesider. |
| Length | White bass has lengths ranging from 12 to 15 inches. | Striped bass has a length ranging from 20 to 50 inches. |
| Stripes | Stripes are pretty faint on the body of White bass, and only one of them reaches the tail. | Stripes appear pretty clearly on the body of Striped bass and make their appearance till the tail part. |
| State Fish | White bass is considered the state fish of Oklahoma. | Striped bass is considered a provincial fish of Maryland, Southern California, Rhode Island. |
What is White Bass?
White bass is a silver-colored fish having large, tough scales and two typical dorsal fins. The anterior part of the dorsal fin possesses a sharp pattern on it.
The fins with such facilities are referred to as spinous rays. The fin that lies more to the posterior among the dorsal fins has a soft texture and is thus called a soft ray.
White bass can grow up to size 2-3 feet and reach a maximum weight of six pounds. They are social fish and live in groups and confidently take any bait they find. They mostly spend their entire lifetime in freshwaters only.
White bass chiefly feeds on different organisms, including daphnia, cyclopoid copepods, leptodora, etc. Among the White bass, the fish who successfully accumulate fat in their body during Summer have better chances to survive during winters.
The largest fish among the group is sometimes seen feeding over the other in the group.
The egg-laying or the swamping time for White bass is during mid-March which lasts till the end of May. They prefer laying eggs in shallow water rather than deep waters.
The suitable temperature for them to lay eggs is 12 to 20 degrees Celsius, and thus they lay eggs during the daytime.
What is Striped Bass?
Striped bass is a pretty popular fish in Atlanta and North America. It has a slender streamlined body. It has prominent dark stripes that run from gills to the caudal region.
It matures up to the size of 20 to 40 pounds. They are believed to live up to a long span of 30 years.
Striped fish are the anadromous type of fish, and it keeps migrating between freshwater and marine water. They are seen to be relocating in the fresh waters to lay eggs. Most of the lifetime is spent in freshwater rather than saltwater or marine water.
They are primarily seen on the Pacific coast of Atlanta and are used for recreational fishing. In some areas, they have also been used to control the overgrown colonies of gizzard shad.
They subsist as a decent diet in several places of the world. Their meat is white and mild to taste and has good nutritional value.
The Striped bass species of the Moronidae family is also used as a sport fish. Many states that have striped bass present in their state waters have designated it as the game fish.
In Mexico, there is another similar variety of striped bass observed, but it is named the Gulf Coast Striped bass.
Main Differences Between White Bass and Striped Bass
- White bass has faint stripes over its body that hardly reach the caudal region. On the other hand, Striped bass has long black lines to the caudal part.
- The mouth region of White bass has one tooth patch for catching prey, while Striped bass has two tooth patches for better catching of prey.
- White bass is seen only in the freshwater, whereas Striped bass spends their adulthood in saltwater.
- The dorsal fins of White bass are closer and short in size. In contrast, Striped bass has dorsal fins quite apart from each other.
- The highest record weight of white bass is 3.1 kgs (6 pounds and 13 ounces), while that of striped bass is 56 kgs (124 pounds).
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1577/1548-8675(1991)011%3C0451%3ASWWSFS%3E2.3.CO%3B2
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1577/1548-8454(1999)061%3C0278%3ACTAFAC%3E2.0.CO%3B2
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