It's worth noting, however, that these fish are often misidentified. Crappie vs. Bluegill You will not find much difference between these two fish mostly because they come from the same family, the sunfish. The nests are usually oval in shape and about twice the length of the actual fish. The rock bass is most easily identified by six spiny bones in the anal fin. The term is also commonly used by anglers to refer to any small catch that will fit in a pan but is large enough to be legal. The dorsal fin on the warmouth has three bony spines. How to Tell the Difference Between Crappie and Bluegill. In times of scarce food supply, bluegills may eat their own eggs. Sunfish are a genus of freshwater fish, and one variety within the Lepomis genus is the bluegill -- the "difference" is that all bluegills are sunfish but not all sunfish are bluegills. But remember, there are many species and hybrids. 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