Matthew S.

Fish

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. What’s Swimming in the Salty Sea?
3. Swimming in Lakes, Streams, and Rivers
4. The Dark Depths of the Sea
5. Glossary

Introduction

Have you ever wondered what’s swimming in the tanks at almost all pet shops? They’re fish! Fish are are creatures big and small that swim in most water around the

world. They are in 3 categories. Deep sea with the weird and ugly, saltwater swimming in seas and oceans, and freshwater in ponds and lakes.

What’s Swimming in the  Salty Sea?

The ocean is a big place and it’s not surprising that it’s filled with fish. These fish are called saltwater fish. Saltwater fish include fish such as cod, sea bass, and even swordfish,  just to name a few. These fish swim around the oceans and seas all

over the world. Most fishers enjoy catching these fish because they are more challenging than catching freshwater fish. Life of a saltwater fish is not easy though. Saltwater fish have to fear getting eaten by sharks and bigger fish all day. These fish also have to find food such as smaller fish, algae, and other sea plants, like seaweed. Saltwater fish, just like all fish, have a layer of see through eye lids so they don't have to worry about the water hurting their eyes like some humans do.

A type of saltwater fish is most commonly known as a swordfish. However, they may be called blue marlin or sailfish. These fish are popular with fishers because they are strong, fast and powerful. A full grown swordfish can swim at speeds up to 60 miles per hour. Swordfish are pretty big fish and grow to be 6 to 8 feet long. Swordfish are well recognized for the large sword shaped part at the front of it’s body. This sword shaped area is called a bill. A bill is used for breaking up groups of fish so hopefully so it can eat a few. The bill also allows them to swim faster by breaking the flow of water around it. The bill also helps it eat it’s food of deep-sea fish and squid. As you can see, the swordfish is very recognized for being well prepared for his warm ocean home.

A clownfish is another type of saltwater fish. Most people recognize the the clown fish from as the main character in the movie Finding Nemo. Clown fish are also called anemone fish from their underwater sea home called sea anemones. Anemones are under the sea plants that are poisonous to humans, other fish, sharks, whales, and more. However, clownfish are immune to the poison of the anemone. In return for living in the anemone, the clownfish will clean and protect the anemone from fish that will eat it. If you zoom out clownfish really live in the Indian and Pacific oceans. Clownfish are very brightly colored like most poisonous frogs. Clownfish are bright orange with white stripes.

Saltwater fish are found all over the world. However some types are becoming very endangered. Many types of sharks are becoming very endangered from hunters. Most people hunt them because they think they are hunting animals that eat humans. But really, you have more of a chance of being struck by lightning than bitten by a shark. Sharks only attack humans because they think they are seals in the water. If they knew we weren’t seals, they wouldn’t bite us.

Swimming in Lakes, Streams, and Rivers

There are millions of types of fish in the world. The oceans and seas are big, but not big enough to have all types of fish. So some of the fish live in lakes, streams, and rivers. These fish are called freshwater fish. Freshwater fish include fish like salmon, carp, and trout. Some can be big but others can be the size of a dime.

Salmon is a type of freshwater fish, but salmon are saltwater too. Salmon switch from being freshwater fish to saltwater then back to freshwater. First they are born in a river or  stream where they grow up. Next they swim to the ocean where the live for a while. Finally, they return to the stream or the river where they were born to have their little baby salmon and the cycle starts over. They are the only type of fish that do this but some types of trout do it as well. However, the journey is very challenging because they have to swim against the force of the water. Not all of the salmon survive the challenge. Salmon are like like other types of fish because there are more than 1 type of salmon. One type is called King Salmon. King Salmon are a type of salmon that grow extremely large compared to normal salmon. Salmon are important to humans. Salmon is a very popular type of food and is also very fun to catch.

Another type of freshwater fish is a trout. Trout live all over the cool lakes and streams. Trout is a great type of fish, they are fun to catch and are a very valuable type of food. One other thing the make trout a special is that there are so many types from the golden trout to the rainbow trout. True trouts have dark spots on their  bodies. Other trout have spots that are light red, pink, or cream-colored. As you can see, freshwater fish can be very interesting, especially trout.

There is a lot to know about Freshwater fish. And they have more uses than being eaten and caught. Some people like to keep fish tanks full of them. I have 2 tanks filled with freshwater fish in my room.

The Dark Depths of the Sea

Fish live in many different places. Lakes, streams, oceans, seas, and lakes to name  a few. But they also live at the bottoms of the seas and oceans. They are called deep sea fish. However many look very strange. Especially fish such as the blobfish. The blobfish is a fish that looks like a blob with eyes and a mouth, it is often considered one of the ugliest things on the planet. Now I’ll teach you about them.

The coelacanth is a very rare type of deep sea fish. Until 1938 people believed that the coelacanth died out when the dinosaurs died. However, someone caught one and proved the world wrong when Dr. J. L. B. saw one while he was on a boat. Later Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer identified it.  When it was caught it earned the nickname “living fossil” because before humans had found only fossils of the coelacanth. The most striking part of the coelacanth is that it has paired lobe fins that extend away from it’s body. It has many other unique characteristics such as a hinged jaw and thick scales which are commonly only on extinct fish. Coelacanths can grow up to 6.5 feet. They have sharp teeth. The total coelacanth population is not known but scientists estimate that there are only 1,000 remaining, making them an endangered species. One interesting fact is that female Coelacanths give birth to live young like mammals do. Another interesting fact is that Coelacanths and Lungfish are the only living sarcopterygian fish and all mammals,  birds, amphibians descended sarcopterygian fish because tetrapods descended from sarcopterygian fish.   

The anglerfish is another type of deep sea fish. The anglerfish is another type of fish that was in the movie Finding Nemo. The anglerfish is most commonly known for the piece of dorsal spine that is shaped like a fishing pole and has a glowing piece of flesh at the end. This hangs above their month. However only female anglerfish have this adaptation.

As you can see, deep sea creatures are weird, but also awesome too!

Glossary

Saltwater fish - Fish that live in a saltwater habitat such as a sea.

Swordfish - A large edible marine fish with a streamlined body and a long flattened sword-like snout called a bill, related to the billfishes and popular as a game fish.

Bill - The  long, pointed sword on a swordfish.

 

Clownfish - A  small, tropical marine fish with bold vertical stripes or other bright coloration. It lives in close association with anemones and is protected from their stings by mucus.

Sea anemone - A sedentary marine coelenterate with a columnar body that bears a ring of stinging tentacles around the mouth.

Freshwater fish - A fish that lives in freshwater habitats like ponds, lakes and rivers.

Salmon - A large edible fish that is a popular game fish, much prized for its pink flesh. Salmon mature in the sea but migrate to freshwater streams to spawn.

River - A large natural flow of water that crosses an area of land and goes into an ocean, a lake, etc.

Stream - A small, narrow river.

Ocean - The salt water that covers much of the Earth's surface.

King Salmon - A large salmon that is found in the same areas.

Trout - a common fish that lives in rivers and lakes and is often used as food.

Rainbow Trout - a large trout native to the Pacific seaboard of North America. It has been widely introduced elsewhere, both as a farmed food fish and as a sporting fish. Most rainbow trout remain in streams, but some migrate to lakes and some to the sea.

Golden Trout - A type of trout that is known for it’s golden color.

True Trouts - Trout that have  have dark spots on their bodies.

Other Trouts - Trout that have red, pink, or cream-colored spots.

Coelacanth - a large, bony marine fish with a three-lobed tail fin and fleshy pectoral fins. It is thought to be related to the ancestors of land vertebrates and was known only from fossils until one was found alive in 1938; since then others have been found near the Comoro Islands in the Indian Ocean and off Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Lobe Fin - The fin on the bottom of most fish.

Anglerfish - a fish that lures prey with a fleshy lobe attached to a filament that arises from the snout and hangs in front of the mouth. Most anglerfishes have a very large head and wide mouth, with a small body and tail.

Sarcopterygian fish - Sarcopterygian fish were fish that gave rise to tetrapods.