The Sacramento perch's native habitat is in sluggish, vegetated waters of sloughs and lakes.

Three species, the thicktail chub, splittail, and Sacramento perch have been extirpated from the drainage; the thicktail chub is extinct.

Sacramento perch (Archoplites interruptus)

The Sacramento perch (Archoplites interruptus) is a sunfish (family Centrarchidae) native to the Sacramento-San Joaquin, Pajaro, and Salinas River areas in California but widely introduced throughout the western United States.