The Life of a Fish

The life of all fishes began in an egg. It may be that the eggs are laid or are kept in the mother till they hatch. The undeveloped fish, live every other undeveloped creature in an egg is called an embryo. The embryo feeds on yolk found in the egg.

The hatched young fish is called a larvae. The fish can be considered an adult when it finally has reproductary organs that function. Some become adult in a few minutes, some take months, and still other years. Most fish keep growing the full length of their life. Fishes generally grow many fold in their lives.

How fish get food.

Fishes are almost always carnivores. Their diet varies widely. They eat other fish, worms and other water creatures. They sometimes eat their own offspring. Some are herbivores. They eat water plants. Some are omnivores. Some eat only dead creatures. Fishes have special methods for catching their prey.

Certain fish attract enemies by flashing lights, some fish just directly confront and kill their prey. The swordfish has a extended sharp jaws, and slashes it's prey with this. The archer fish shoots out a jet of water at small animals outside the water, like spiders. When the prey falls into the water, it eats it. Eels stun their prey with electric shocks.

How fish swim.

The tail helps in propelling the fish forward. As the tail goes left, the body goes right and vice versa. The fins help it in maintaining direction, the fins help. To turn left, the left fin is extended. Both fins are extended to stop.

How fish protect themselves.

All the fish, except the largest ones, are in danger of being dinner for another fish. To live, and maintain it's number, fishes have developed many methods.

Camouflage is one of the common methods. A fish that perfectly blends with its surroundings and goes unnoticed, is the one that is more likely to live, than one that presents sharp contrast to the environment. Since not all fish blend, they deepened on their speed or defense systems to stay alive. Fish that have think covering like scales, or spikes, or colouring that signifies danger frighten away predators. Some fish have poison glands that help it to stun the prey. Some also expand their size and frighten away the enemies. Some fish that live at the ocean bed dig their way out of their problems. Some eels also generate electricity to escape from danger. Some other fish come higher to escape. The flying fish, for example propels itself from the water, and with the help of it's extended fins, glide for some distance.

How fish rest. All animals have to take some rest, sometime or the other. Since they do not have eyelids, they have to keep their eyes open. Some just remain inactive for some time. But fish still move their fins, to maintain their position so that they may not be washed away. Some fish, like the lungfish, come out of water and rest for months.

Fishes living together. Many fish live alone, by themselves. They hunt and live alone. Only in mating times, do they come together. Other fish live in schools or groups. The number of fish per school varies. Some have less than a dozen, some more than thousands. The younger fish never stay in the school of their parents.

Sometimes, fishes come together only for a period of time like feeding, resting. It is also common to see smaller fish teaming up with larger ones. The larger ones get themselves rid of parasites by the help of smaller fish that eat them, and the smaller fish in return, get food at the same time.

Reproduction of Fish

In fish, reproduction is sexual. The sperms unite with the egg, and fertilization takes place. In most cases, the process of fertilization takes place externally. The female releases the egg into the water, while the male simultaneously releases the sperms. Some of the sperms join with some of the eggs, and fertilization takes place. This method of fertilization is external fertilization. Most of the bony fish follow this method In still other fishes like sharks, rays and some of the bony fish reproduce in a different process. They reproduce by internal fertilization. The male and female mate in this kind of fertilization, and the sperms enter the females body from the male. This is possible when the male has a specialized organ to transfer the sperms. After fertilization, the fertilized eggs are released into the water.