Needle fish belongs to the needle family. About 200 varieties are known, and each species has a specific body length, which can be from 3 to 60 cm.
This fish lives up to its name. It can be compared to a needle or colored faceted pencil. The body of this fish is thin, elongated, with evenly spaced bone thickenings, like an outer skeleton. The tail is fan-shaped, elongated. The dorsal fin is small, so it cannot develop high speed. Coloring - from yellowish and dark green speckled to reddish tones. It may vary depending on the environment. The mouth is long, tubular, expanding at the end. There are scallops on the sides of the mouth. Here it is, a needle fish. The photo shows her well.
There are no teeth, since they are not necessary. The needle-fish feeds on small crustaceans, plankton, insect larvae, and will not refuse foreign caviar. Looking for food focuses on vision. Shy. Most of life
spends between stones, in thickets of marine plants, calmly lies at the bottom or slowly moves along the bottom. Slow, only danger makes it move faster, curving its body like a snake. For this ability, it is also called a snakefish.
Needle fish is found in the Atlantic Ocean, the Black, Caspian, Azov, Mediterranean Seas, as well as in the mouths of rivers flowing into these seas, i.e. in warm waters. The average depth at which she prefers to dwell is about 9-12 m. Moreover, she tries to stay close to the coast. Grows slowly, by the age of five, the fish of the Black Sea reaches 19 cm in length and weighs 5 g.
Children love to catch it in shallow water with their hands. They dry the caught fish in the sun. Dried fish is brought from the rest as souvenirs.
The process of reproduction is very interesting in this fish. Spawning occurs in May-June.
At the end of the mating season, the female, wrapping herself around the male, spawns into the folds of skin on the ventral side of his body. In the process of throwing eggs are fertilized. After filling, the edges of the folds converge, forming a brood chamber, which occupies a third of the length of the male. If there is not enough caviar, then the male is able to take caviar from another female. Being in the brood chamber, eggs (up to 100 pieces) receive food and oxygen through the father’s blood vessels.
Hatching from them, the fry spend some more time in the brood chamber. To release the fry, the male bends in an arc and opens the brood chamber. In case of danger, the fry hide.
Swedish scientists, conducting experiments with needle fish, came to the conclusion that not all eggs turn into fry. If the male does not have enough food, then part of them dissolves, entering his body. Digesting their contents, he continues to feed and grow the rest. The needle fish is a good example of how nature wisely disposed, trying to maintain and continue life.
It is not of practical interest to people. The needle fish is not used for food and is not suitable as bait. Predatory fish pretend to it only in the absence of other, more delicious food.
