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What
are fishes?
Fishes are like us! We both belong to the same group of animals
with backbones!
Fishy
shape stories
The shapes of fishes tell us how they live and find their food.
- Can
you guess from the shape of this fish where it lives?
- Is it
streamlined or chunky? Or long and slinky?
- Is it
flattened sideways? Or flattened like a pancake?
- What
kind of fins does it have?
- Can
you guess from the shape of this fish what it eats?
- Where
are its eyes? Are its eyes big compared to its body?
- Where
is its mouth?
- The
next time you eat a fish for dinner, have a closer look at it.
Try to find out more about how it lives and what it eats.
- I see
three fishes in this pool. Can you see them?
Don't move too much or they will hide!
Let's wait a while and it might come out again.
To
encourage patient observation.
Dead
Fish Treasure
A dead fish on the shore is a great way to introduce
many different ideas!
- How/Why
do you think it died?
- A dead fish
can be cut up to show internal structures.
- Scavengers
are attracted to dead fish: crabs, worms, flies
- Why
do dead fish smell so bad? Why
do dead fish smell fishy? on the wild shores of singapore
blog
Fishes are important to the ecosystem
- Fishes keep
the ecosystem in balance by eating
- Grazing
fishes trim seaweeds so that they don't overgrow corals.
- Fishes
that eat other animals make sure there isn't too many of these
animals.
- Fishes are
part of the food chain. Can
we think of some animals that might eat a fish? Some charismatic
animals to highlight: otters, birds, people.
- Fishes NEED
a good ecosystem in order to thrive: Small and baby fishes need
hiding places like mangroves, seagrass meadows, coral reefs. Here,
they can also find food, to grow bigger. When they become adults,
many fishes move to deeper waters or the open sea. They are then
caught and become our seafood.
Fish
and you
"Can eat or Not?" We all love to eat fish!
- What
is your favourite sea fish?
- Do you
know where it comes from? How was it caught? Was it farmed?
- Do you
know what it eats?
Fish
myths to dispel
- Fishes
are NOT forever.
If we do not properly manage the way we harvest fishes from the
sea, our favourite fishes may disappear forever.
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Handling
tips
Avoid catching fishes: Most explanations and observations
can be made without having to catch a fish.
Don't touch fishes: Many fishes can bite, even small
ones!
Don't tease or annoy fishes: They will get stressed
and may die.
Don't remove fishes from water! They will die.
Do NOT remove
clown anemonefishes
from their anemones.
If
you have to catch a fish, be gentle: Be gentle when using
a net. Fish fins can get entangled in the net. It is better
to 'herd' the fish into the container than to use the net
to catch the fish.
Fishes can jump: When placing a fish in a small container
for everyone to look at, be careful as the fish may jump out
and may die if panicked visitors stomp on it.
Don't bag fishes: If you are bringing a fish from a
distance to show to visitors, do NOT place the fish in a closed
container or plastic bag for a long time. It needs oxygen
to breathe.
Natural pool is best: To show visitors fishes that
were caught a distance away, it is better to place them in
a relatively deep natural pool along the visitor trail. Than
to put them in a container.
Containers can kill: If a fish is to be kept in a container
for some time to show visitors later on, make sure the container
is deep enough so that the fish can't jump out. Place the
container in a shaded place. And change the water in the container
every 15 mins to half an hour, especially for small containers.
Don't mix fishes: Do not put different kinds of fishes
in the same container. They might eat or poison one another.
Do not put fishes with other animals in the same container.
Many marine animals secrete poisons that can kill fishes especially
in a confined space.
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