• Intro
• What's a Fish?
• Parts of a Fish
• Lifestyles
• Fish We Eat
• FAQ
• Home

• For Teachers
• Activities for Students
• Other Online Resources
• References Cited
• Glossaries

Lifestyles

Where do fish live? What do they do all day? What are their favorite foods? Just what are the fish lifestyles? It'a as varied as the fishes themselves and the habitats in which they live. We start with their lifespan, span and what they eat - basic onlifestyle, and move on to specific behaviors.

Longevity

Fishes have a wide range of lifespans from the very short- to long-lived. Two the short-lived fishes, the Pygmy Goby (Eviota sigillata) lives for just 59 days and the Turquoise Killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) usually lasts less than three months. Their short lifespans are remarkable among all of the living vertebrates, making them good subjects for studies on aging.

At the other end of the age spectrum, fishes such as the Orange Roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) and behemoth Whale Sharks (Rhincodon typus)may live for over a century.

In general, the longest-lived fishes outlive the longest-liveed terrestrial animals such as humans, tortoises, elephants and parrots. Unlike terrestrial animals, fish tend to keep growing, although at a slower rate when they are old.

Compared with typical lifespans in natural habitats, fishes kept in captivity can be atypically longer- or short-lived.

Indeterminate vs. determinate age?

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Telling age

Since fish won't say how old they are, how do we know their age? It can be difficult to find out. One coFew of us know a particular fish in the wild that well. And while we might know the ages of fishes in captivity, their ages may not reflect their lifespans in natural habitats.

Like trees, certain parts of some fish grow visible annual rings - the bones in the ears, scales and some vertebra in sharks. Because these parts are relatively hard, preserved specimens can be collected from sediment as well as from recently caught specimens. With experience and knowledge about how these rings grow in specific fish, the rings in these objects ccan be used to estimate age with some expertise. Based on ... counts on fish otoliths, fishes sucha s the Orange Roughy are estimated to live more than a century. Unlike fishes with a predetermined lifespan, the oldest fishes are indeterminate.

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Getting Around

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Fish Senses

Sensory Systems

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Fish Communication

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Schemes of Reproduction

How Fish Babies Arrive

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Transformation

Ut eam novum ridens laoreet, elit errem vidisse ut est. An sea rebum aeterno mnesarchum. Id partiendo definiebas suscipiantur sea. Usu quot persius no, vim vide erat virtute te, modus quando graeci ne qui. Ea vim augue efficiendi interesset. Bonorum voluptaria repudiandae mea ex, sed te dictas sadipscing. Ut tation feugait voluptatum vis, nec at scripta blandit.

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What Fishes Eat

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Fish predators, parasites & scavengers

Predators

Parasites

Scavengers

   

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