Fish drop story for children. fish drop
The drop fish has received the title of the ugliest animal in the world. This is one of the most bizarre deep sea fish on the planet.
In the underwater oceanic world there are specimens that surprise us and often it is difficult to call them even fish. I want to talk about one such instance today. This is a blob fish.
Where does the drop fish live? It lives off the coast of Australia at a depth of 600 - 1200 m and is a gelatinous mass, up to 70 cm long.
A feature of this fish is the absence of a swim bladder, since it does not work at great depths. The body density of this fish is less than that of water and this allows it to stay afloat. What does a drop fish eat?
It feeds on small invertebrates, but due to the complete absence of muscles, it does not chase them, as other fish do, but sits still and waits for prey with its mouth wide open.
The blob fish is considered a very caring parent. She sits on the eggs until the offspring hatch.
But even after that, he does not leave them, but surrounds them with care and attention and tries to hide them in the most secluded corners of the underwater kingdom. The fish is not considered edible.
The title of the ugliest fish drop
Although the drop fish is not considered edible, it is on the verge of extinction. It's all about deep-sea fishing.
Fish are often caught in nets along with lobsters and crabs, and the population is restored for a rather long time.
To draw attention to the problems of amazing and endangered species, like a drop fish, decided in Society for the Preservation of Ugly Animals. The society launched a campaign for the title of the ugliest animal in the world.
This fish is very unusual. Because of her appearance, she was considered the most terrible animal on the planet. Little is known about this creature, as the drop fish leads a secretive lifestyle.
Appearance of a fish drop
This underwater animal has no scales at all. The fish has a tail and small fins. It is all pale pink or beige. A drop fish is like frozen jelly, this gives it the ability to at least somehow swim, because it has a very small amount of muscle.
The body of the creature is like a drop, which is why it was called that. Weight reaches up to 10 kg, but usually less. The length of the fish never exceeds 68-70 cm. The water "jelly" has a sad, sad (sometimes angry or dissatisfied) facial expression, a nose hanging down, a sad mouth. In general, this gift of nature is very similar to a bald old man, which makes him also funny.
Feeding and reproduction of fish drops
In food, the drop fish is not very picky. Usually she eats plankton or small crustaceans (there are a lot of them in her habitats). The fish opens its large mouth and waits for enough prey to fit into its mouth. Sometimes, she can eat crustaceans, such as shrimp.
Recently, scientists have learned that the blobfish is the best and most caring parent of the fish family. The hatched fry the creation of nature protects from the hungry predatory fish. Parents are constantly worried about their offspring, so they surround the children with tender care and never leave the fry unattended until they become adults. The grown offspring live independently and look for food. Scientists know almost nothing about the reproduction of these creatures.
A drop fish lives at great depths, where sunlight does not penetrate. There is comfort and fewer predators (sharks, moray eels).
Enemies of fish drops
There are very few enemies in adult fish. practically no one feeds on them, and the cubs die more often from natural causes.
In some countries, this fish is considered a delicacy, while in others they are even afraid to touch it (they say that it is not edible). Some scientists believe that the drop fish is not a fish at all. Since the sad creature does not have scales, but instead has a soft and slimy body. Yes, and the fins are too small for such a mass. Single drop fish. Sometimes they can stay in a small flock of 2-3 individuals. This creation of nature has become very rare, surprisingly, because few people catch and eat it. People imply that this is due to long breeding.
Unusual, sometimes ugly, sometimes funny inhabitants of the Earth always attract attention. Exotic creatures that inhabit the bottomless depths of the oceans are an object for research by scientists and the reason for the genuine interest of most of the inhabitants of the planet. The mysterious Australian goby or drop fish (Psychrolutes marcidus) is one of the strangest creatures in the deep waters. What does she represent?
Habitat
Known in Australia as the Australian sculpin, the blobfish has a small population and is rarely seen by humans. Feels great at great depths - from 800 to 1200 m. The limited habitat - the Australian coast, the islands of Tasmania and New Zealand - and habitat features have led to a few information about the drop fish among ichthyologists. A drop fish feels comfortable in the waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. It differs from most of its relatives in that it practically does not float to the surface or shallow depths.
Color
It is difficult to judge the color of a drop fish. Photos taken by researchers in their natural habitat, at considerable depths, confirm the characteristic coloring for the family of ray-finned (goby) fish. These are shades from sandy to greyish-brown. Instances that were awarded a photo shoot on land are closer in color to squids: from light pink to gray tones. The fry drops are predominantly beige in color, which helps to protect themselves from possible predators.
Nutrition
The pressure of the water column, structural features of the drop fish determined the dissimilarity of its food chain. Unlike many inhabitants of the seabed, this type of cold-blooded creatures does not hunt for prey. The huge mouth serves as a trap for slowly passing plankton, which "swims" into the oral cavity itself. The remains of biological substances, tiny invertebrates, algae - do not go unnoticed by this amazing fish.
Size
The largest fish drop is small, about 30 - 35 cm. Sometimes larger individuals come across, as in the photo, reaching a length of 60 cm. The jelly-like, watery body is a drop in shape, from where the name came from. Researchers note a slight change in the size of the psycholute goby when it hits land: at first, a significant increase in the head and perifin zone, and then a gradual “deflation” in volume.
reproduction
The spawning process of the drop fish is different from most creatures that inhabit the ocean. Some of its deep-sea inhabitants, producing offspring, rise to shallow water so that the eggs, mixing with plankton, successfully mask and develop. Other representatives of the animal world descend to great depths to reproduce the genus.
A drop of fish never leaves the bottom of the oceans, seas, spawning in the sand. A caring mother of the family, she "hatches" the fry without moving. Then for a long time the kids are under the control and care of the mother. The gaps in science include the open question of how a drop fish finds a mate.
Lifespan
The inhabitant of the Australian coast does not have natural enemies, however, the number of drop fish is constantly declining. The reason is human activity - catching lobsters, shrimps with the help of bottom trawls, where this creature often gets. Tourists, curious onlookers do not miss the opportunity to show off in the photo with this unsympathetic outwardly fish, which is also detrimental to her life. Therefore, even taking into account the concern for offspring, it takes from 5 to 14 years to replenish the population.
Distinctive features of drop fish: interesting facts
Drop fish or Blobfish, as English-speaking residents call this creature, belongs to the family of psychrolutes. Unusual, to put it mildly, appearance served as the basis for the use of the image in feature films (for example, "Men in Black - 2"), animation, and the creation of numerous cartoons.
The wide-set eyes are an advantage for navigating in the absolute darkness of the ocean floor. However, located on the sides of a strange process resembling a huge nose, they give a dull and sad expression to the drop fish. The lowered corners of the mouth complete the "sad" appearance, about which they sometimes say "complete sadness."
The special structure of the body is the absence of a bubble and muscle mass, spine, poorly developed fin system - distinguish a drop of fish among their own kind. Having a density of a jelly-like mass slightly less than water, the Australian goby confidently and comfortably “floats” at such depths where living creatures cannot survive. The surface of the body of an unusual fish does not have scales.
Video: drop fish under water and on land
What causes human interest in the non-standard appearance of a drop fish? Exploring the characteristics of such inhabitants of great depths, humanity is approaching the solution of the possibility of life under the water column. An unusual appearance, a unique body structure, the ability to comfortably move under pressure a hundred times higher than above sea level distinguish this creature. Wanna see unique photos and a deep-sea camera video of an Australian goby at a depth of more than a kilometer? Watch our video:
Photo: What the saddest fish on earth looks like
The permanent winner of photo voting in the ratings of the strangest inhabitants of the planet, the drop fish is attracting more and more interest. The Australian government, concerned about the extinction of the population, environmentalists, in order to attract interest and increase the safety of the existence of the Australian sculpin, attract interest in this creature by releasing funny soft toys and funding additional research. What Psychrolutes marcidus looks like in its usual environment - deep under water - and on land, you can see in the photo below.
The blob fish is unique in its kind, it has a repulsive appearance, and many call it the most disgusting fish that is found in the sea. This fish lives in deep water, and scientists attribute it to the Psycholute family.
You can meet drop fish in the depths of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. Most often, a drop fish is found off the coast of Australia and Tasmania, it is always very deep under water - from six hundred to 100 meters. The British call it the toad fish, and also the Australian goby. 
The blob fish has a unique body structure that makes it look completely different from any other fish.
The length of the body is up to seventy centimeters, it does not have scales and fins. In general, the body of a drop fish is like a gelatinous mass, the weight of which can be up to 10 kg. This fish has huge eyes, which are often called sad, as well as a nose that resembles a human in shape. The sad expression on the face of a drop fish is quite understandable, because its interorbital space is wider than the diameter of the eye.
Another difference from other fish is expressed in the drop fish by the absence of a swim bladder. It is simply not needed at the depth at which this species of fish lives. It is the gelatinous structure that allows the drop fish to swim, which supports it and helps not to expend effort to move in deep water. 
For the same reason, this fish has no musculature, it simply swims with the flow, its mouth wide open in anticipation of food falling into it. Drop fish can also wait for their victims, motionless "hanging" in the water. Its main food sources are small invertebrates and plankton. Although, this fish can swallow almost everything that is suitable for food and swam into its mouth by itself.
Drop fish underwater
The body of the drop fish itself produces the gelatinous gel of which it is composed. The air bubble inside the body helps her in this process.
The blobfish is an inedible fish, but in recent times fishermen in Australia and Tasmania have begun to catch it more and more often along with other deep-sea prey. Most often, a drop fish comes across in the nets of fishermen who hunt for lobsters. It is because of this that today this species of fish is considered a species that is threatened with complete extinction.
What does a drop fish look like on land?
Drop fish are difficult to observe in their natural environment, and therefore science cannot give complete information about them. However, science managed to get one very interesting fact that can make blob fish more attractive in the eyes of people. This fish is the most caring when it comes to its offspring. A very strange and unusual fact is that a drop fish “hatches” its eggs. After the fish has laid eggs, it is constantly on it for some time, protecting and preserving offspring.
After the offspring of the drop fish is born, she begins to engage in his "education". The fry of this fish are never left without parental attention, they are constantly next to their mother. At the same time, the drop fish tries to find the quietest and most hidden places in deep water for fry, thus removing danger from them. True, this fish has practically no natural enemies at such a depth. 
Today, the drop fish is one of the most mysterious and incomprehensible creatures on earth. The difficulty in studying it is due to the fact that it lives too deep under water. However, the popularity of this unique fish does not hold. The Internet is literally teeming with images of this mysterious creature, which is included in the ratings of the strangest creatures on earth.
In contact with
No one can remain indifferent when they see this fish for the first time, even if not alive, but in a photograph. The muzzle of this jelly-like amorphous creature seems to be created out of despondency, for despondency and in the name of despondency. Widely spaced eyes, a wide mouth, a sadly hanging thick “nose” (actually, of course, it’s not a nose at all, but it creates such an impression) - all together can make even the most cheerful individual feel sad.
The blobfish was "discovered" (i.e., first described and classified) in 1926, when Australian fishermen provided a specimen to zoologists. The fish was considered inedible, entered into the zoological annals and left alone. In addition, the drop fish itself was not eager to catch the eye of people, as it lived at depths of more than six hundred meters, and close to the surface, where the pressure of the water column is low, it felt uncomfortable.
Due to its habitat at great depths, the drop fish has developed a number of adaptations that help it to exist quite tolerably in the depths of the ocean. First of all, she doesn't have it, since under such enormous pressure it is useless. Secondly, the drop fish has practically no muscles, and swims mainly with the flow. She does not chase food, food comes (or rather, swims) to her by herself. Its diet consists mainly of plankton, and it obtains food simply by opening its mouth. Small crustaceans swim into the mouth on their own.
A drop fish is a good mother and takes care of her kids no worse than a mother hen takes care of chickens. Having swept aside the eggs, she “hatches” her - just like a hatchling of eggs, and when small “droplets” “hatch” from the eggs, she takes care of them, looking for quiet places for them to live, “kindergartens” - in the terminology of zoologists. See that they grow up in peace and security. However, at such a depth, she has practically no natural enemies.
The main enemy of the drop fish is man. No, no one casts a seine specially for a drop fish. It enters the net when fishermen conduct deep-sea trawling to catch lobster or crabs.
Although the drop fish has been known to people for less than a hundred years and is considered inedible, there were also such "gourmets" who considered this deep-sea "jelly" to be a great delicacy. According to some reports, in Japan, China and the countries of Southeast Asia there are many wealthy people who are ready to pay a lot of money for an inhabitant of the ocean depths. However, this is not surprising, if we recall the modern Chinese proverb that says that a good cook can cook everything that crawls through the fields, except for tractors, everything that flies in the sky, except for airplanes, and everything that swims in the depths of the sea, except for underwater boats.
What it looks like in its natural habitat, at a depth of six hundred to one thousand two hundred meters, is unknown. The drop fish did not leave a photo of itself. Yes, and it is unlikely to be done in the near future. But on the shore or on board a fishing schooner, it looks extremely unattractive. There is a drop fish mainly off the coast of Australia, but individual specimens are caught in all oceans except the Arctic. Fish live at great depths, photos and names of which are still waiting for publication on the pages of encyclopedias and textbooks. The ocean depths are still extremely poorly explored.
Due to careless fishing of marine arthropods and the close attention of Asian gourmets, the drop fish is endangered. Is it possible that a person's acquaintance with this unusual fish will be so short - less than a hundred years? The history of the relationship between people and nature says that this is not unusual. This has happened many times. for example, it was destroyed only twenty-seven years after its discovery. But somehow I don’t want the drop fish, this sad miracle, to suffer the same fate.
