Nature constantly surprises us with rare and very interesting plants and animals. Among the amazing and unusual representatives of the fauna there are many inhabitants of water bodies. One of them is transparent fish. This is one of the rare species that not everyone knows about.
Sea "glass"
In order to survive, the fish are forced to disguise themselves. The stripes and spots on the fins and body, the different color of the scales, as well as the various outgrowths help them merge with the background that surrounds them. But there is one very extravagant and easiest way to become invisible in water. It becomes transparent, as if dissolved in the native element. To lose color, it is enough for a marine animal to lose its reflective surface, for example, a mirror scale.
After all, it is a well-known fact that glass immersed in water is almost invisible to the human eye. This method of camouflage was chosen for themselves by a wide variety of fish that live in the seas and in fresh water. Moreover, these species often do not have any kinship with each other. "Glass" fish are found among aquarium ones.
New Zealand Miracle
Fisherman Stuart Fraser near the Karikari Peninsula came across an unusual creature. At first, he mistook him for a crumpled plastic bag that slowly glided over the surface of the water. Only after taking a closer look, did Stuart realize that this was a living organism. Until this time, the fisherman had not seen anything like it in sea waters and at first did not dare to pick up the animal.
However, human curiosity prevailed over fear. From the water he extracted a very strange and completely transparent fish. Her body was covered with non-solid scales of a jelly-like appearance. That is why transparent fish was more like a jellyfish. In an amazing marine animal, all internal organs were practically invisible, except for one small drop-shaped, painted in red. Fraser took some pictures of the amazing fish and released it back to its native element.
A new view of the inhabitants of the pond?
Stuart Fraser showed the pictures of an amazing creature to Paul Cast, the director of the National Marine Aquarium. After studying the photographs, he determined that this creature is nothing more than Salpa Maggiore - a transparent fish. This species looks like a jellyfish, but nevertheless has a close relationship with marine vertebrates.
Salpa Maggiore is a transparent fish (see photo below). However, she does have a heart and gills. In addition, there are special filters inside this fish. They pass water through her body, collecting food in the form of phytoplankton and algae.
Salpa Maggiore is a transparent fish traveling in large groups. The peculiarity of this species is that the individuals of this creature do not have sex. They are able to independently produce offspring, forming massive schools.
Salpa Maggiore is a transparent fish (photo confirms her unusual appearance), and she looks like a creature from a horror movie. However, you should not be afraid of it. This is an absolutely harmless creature that feeds on plankton. A transparent body is just a disguise that can protect fish from attacks by marine predators, which, like it, live in the surface layers of water.
Very little information has been gathered about Salpa Maggiore fish. Scientists attribute it to one of the subspecies of salsa, numbering about thirty species. In addition, it is known that these marine invertebrates prefer to live in the cold waters of the Southern Ocean.
The transparent fish Salpa Maggiore has a barrel-shaped shape. She moves through water by pumping fluid through her body. The jelly body of the fish is covered with transparent scales through which the ring muscles and intestines are visible. On the surface of an unusual creature, two siphon holes can be seen. One of them is the oral, leading to the vast throat, and the second is cloacal. Siphon holes are located at opposite ends of the transparent fish body. On the ventral side of the marine animal is a heart.
An amazing inhabitant of Baikal waters
Unusual creatures are found not only in the seas and oceans. For example, there is a transparent fish in Baikal. This animal does not have a swimming bladder and scales. In addition, thirty-five percent of his body is fat. Such a fish lives at a great depth of Lake Baikal. Her individuals are viviparous.
What is the name of transparent Baikal fish? Golomyanka. This name comes from the Russian word "golomen", meaning "open sea". It surprisingly accurately conveys the existing features of the etiology of this species of fish.
Golomyanka has refined skull bones. She has especially developed dorsal, pectoral, and anal fins. Golomyanki are very prolific. One individual is able to produce almost two thousand fry. Reproduction occurs by gynogenesis, which is characteristic only for this species.
The transparent fish of Lake Baikal is able to withstand tremendous pressure equal to one hundred and twenty-five bars. Only therefore, its habitat is the bottom of this deep reservoir.
Fish feed using a passive method. Golomyanki literally soar in the water with the help of their pectoral fins. At the same time, their mouth is constantly open and is able to instantly capture the floating food in the form of bottom amphipods, epichura of imacrohectopus and other food.
It is believed that golomyanka fat was used in ancient times as a lamp oil. A big role was played by this transparent fish in Chinese and Mongolian medicine. During the wars it was caught in order to restore strength to wounded soldiers.
Transparent perches
"Glass" fish are found among fairly well-known species. There are also among representatives of the perch family. Ambassidae is one of the subspecies of these fish, otherwise called glass Asian. These aquatic vertebrates are characterized by a high and short, slightly thickened lateral trunk. In the neck, they have some concavity. The transparent tissues of these fish allow you to see the skeleton, as well as the shiny films that cover the gills and internal organs.
Long braids on unpaired fins have a transparent fish, the name of which is a glass angel. Representatives of this family do not have scales on the body. However, the most extravagant appearance is possessed by the big-headed perch. A huge disk-shaped outgrowth resembling a hump hangs over the head of this fish.
Aquarium perch
Most often they buy Parambassis ranga for the house. This is an Indian glass perch. This fish has received an unjustified reputation for being difficult and moody in content. This opinion was formed on the basis of the assumption that she prefers to live in brackish waters. Of course, some members of this family actually live in the seas. However, the Indian glass perch is a resident of low-flow fresh water bodies. This fish prefers slightly acidic and soft water. Under such conditions, it will easily take root in the aquarium and will not cause its owner unnecessary trouble.
However, it should be borne in mind that Indian glass perches like to eat natural food and refuse flakes. In addition, it is advisable to keep a school of ten or more fish in a home aquarium. The fact is that lonely individuals or living in small groups become very shy and depressed. In addition, their appetite is getting worse.
Glass Catfish
This is another transparent fish for the aquarium. Despite its name, it is impossible to recognize its close relatives of catfish living in our reservoirs. The body of these fish is compressed laterally, and not vertically. This is because glass Asian catfish do not lie at the bottom. They actively move in water and live in flocks. Transparent body tissues allow you to see the threads of the ribs and the thin spine of these amazing fish. At first glance, it seems that the abdominal cavity with internal organs in these individuals is completely absent. However, it is not. All of them are shifted to the head and look like a continuation of the gills.
Glass catfish can be not only Asian. There is also an African species of these fish belonging to the shilbov family. Outwardly, they have an incredible similarity with their Asian namesakes. However, they are not so transparent and differ in longitudinal black stripes stretching along the sides of the body. Another distinguishing feature of this family is the remarkably developed adipose fin, as well as four rather than two pairs of antennae on the head.
Transparent tetras
Decorate a home aquarium and small fish of the Characidae family. Their body is painted with only a small palette of colors. As a rule, these are only individual pigmented areas, barely noticeable on the faded background of the body. Such spots are a kind of identification marks. They flash only when the light hits them at a certain angle. These suddenly appearing spots, playing with all the colors of the rainbow, look great in a slightly darkened aquarium. However, in this family there are absolutely transparent fish. In their torso, only one swim bladder can be seen. Nevertheless, this fish also has jewelry. It is represented by a red tail at the base, and a thin strip of greenish color, elongated along the body. Keeping such a fish is easy even for novice lovers, as it is completely undemanding to aquarium conditions.
Charax Conde
This relatively large fish is as close to the ideal of "glass". Her tall diamond-shaped body has a slight golden hue.
The transparency of this fish is not used at all for disguises from enemies. The fact is that the character itself is a predator. In order to wait for prey passing by, this fish is able to spend long hours in ambush. A transparent body makes it invisible in water. Moreover, the character hangs absolutely motionless in the thickets of aquatic vegetation head down.
Common Ridley Priestle
On the anal and dorsal fins of this fish there are spots of yellow and black. Her tail has a reddish tint. But, despite such a coloring, the prey is still referred to as transparent fish. “Glass” is her body. Only in the abdominal cavity can you see the stomach and intestines of the fish, as well as the gills located behind the gill covers.