Gasterosteus sticklebacks

Sticklebacks have 3 hard spines on their backs: 2 long spines long, and the third short. My body is about 10cm long, although this fish does not have scales, they have strong bones on me. Strangely, the number of bones will increase gradually when the salinity of the water increases.

Mature sticklebacks live in estuaries and downstream rivers, often returning to freshwater areas to spring in spring. However, there are also some types of sticklebacks that only live in fresh water for life. In the breeding season, the stickleback fish suddenly changes a lot: their eyes become sparkling green, the chest area is suddenly bright red or orange. Since they are colorful, they start attracting sticklebacks .

Blank sticklebacks make a nest in some depression at the bottom of the lake or the bottom of a river or stream. They use a small amount of glue-like substance secreted from their kidneys to bind the leaves of the water together to form a nest. The nest has a dome, there is a hole through.

The male began to fight with other sticklebacks to protect the nest and protect a small space around the nest and seduce the sticklebacks to swim across.The drum performs seductive dances, captivates females, it encourages females to swim through its ready-made nest. When swimming through it, sticklebacks will lay some or all of their eggs in the nest. Soon after, the sticklebacks also swam across the nest and fertilized the eggs.

The male can seduce many females to swim through its nest. In a breeding season, this nest can contain 300-1000 eggs. The male lures the female and then "takes care" and protects the egg . Drum sticklebacks must regularly clean eggs and use fan tails to create a stream of oxygen-rich water flowing through the eggs. In addition, it must protect eggs carefully, chasing other animals to wait for the eggs to be eaten.

After about 4-27 days, depending on the temperature of the egg begins to hatch. Young fish live around the nest about a week before swimming away.

Sticklebacks eat a lot of things: crustaceans, worms, eggs, larvae, . and some plants. They also eat smaller fish.

One more remarkable thing: After the breeding season, Gasterosteus sticklebacks only gather into small groups of fish in fresh water; While in the sea, they gather together to form crowded spines of sticklebacks .

Gasterosteus sticklebacks like to live in clear water, there are many plants along lakes, rivers and streams, or along the coast. They are present in the Americas, Europe and Asia.