1 76 ] Fish and Their Fabulous Neighbors 



to fish, you can set up five columns with headings for name and 

 brief description, spawning grounds, feeding grounds, natural 

 food, and accepted bait. You may, if you wish, add columns for 

 the date and place of specimens caught, and another in which a 

 small sketch may be made. Such a chart is fun to keep up and in 

 time becomes a lively textbook for children in learning about 

 native fish. 



VISITING FISH HATCHERIES 



A trip to a state or national fish hatchery is entertaining 

 and a child can learn a great deal from observing the fish in all 

 stages of development and discovering how streams and lakes are 

 stocked. Most hatcheries have regular visiting hours for the 

 public, and if none are located near your home, you may discover 

 one during a vacation trip. Signs along the highways will often 

 direct you to hatcheries, and a travel guidebook usually lists them 

 in the region it covers. 



Family Life in the Fish World 



Duels between rival males are not the only drama to be observed 

 in the lives of sunfish. They belong to the interesting group of 

 fish that make nests for their families. 



The male sunfish selects a spot in shallow water close by the 

 shore and excavates mud and sand there to make a saucer-like 

 basin. He clears the place of pebbles by jerking them away with 

 his tail fin or by taking them in his mouth and carrying them 

 away. Measured across, the finished nest is about twice the length 

 of the fish. 



The female sunny, recently won by right of conquest, deposits 

 her eggs in the nest and then takes leave of home and mate. But 

 the male does not share her irresponsibility. He stays close to 

 the nest and bravely defends it from enemies until the eggs hatch. 

 Then the male too resumes a carefree life so far as his family is 

 concerned. There are fish that carry parental duties still further. 

 The male bullhead, for example, continues to guard the baby 

 fish many days after they hatch. 



