Most trout and salmon can be successfully crossed and most hybrids are infertile. One of the most notable hybrids is the tiger trout, a fish produced by fertilising brown trout eggs with brook trout milt.

The tiger trout (Salmo trutta × Salvelinus fontinalis) is a sterile, inter-generic hybrid of the brown trout (Salmo trutta) and the brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis).

This method of producing sterile trout often produces fish that have distinctive patterning and a high novelty value.

Tiger trout grow well and have many of the desirable habits of the brown trout. They are happy in shallow water and are diverse feeders. Because tigers don’t devote physical and biological energy to the rigours of spawning, they tend to grow faster, live longer and maintain better condition throughout the year than their fertile cousins.

They are aggressive piscivores (fish eaters) and grow quickly, eating every smaller fish they can. For that reason they have proven to be an effective tool for controlling invasive species. Since they are sterile, there is no fear of their population getting out of hand.