Little fish in aquariums are usually brightly colored and have frilly fins. This visual appeal has made the critters prime targets for people wanting "wildlife" in their homes. Sorry Folks, this is not anything to do with how life really is in the Bayou. Most of the small fishes that live in the murky waters are just that...murky. They usually are just mud-colored and this is for a reason. Their coloring is camouflage that helps them to escape becoming supper for some larger critter. The Bayou's waters are usually muddy and shadowed by the marsh grasses so any shading on the fish usually mimics the sun-blotched water. This is all fine and dandy as far as being a protective measure but what happens when you WANT to call attention to yourself? At certain times of the year, male fish do, indeed, want to call attention to themselves. They need to attract females so the whole species can carry on existing. But, when you think about it, mud is not the prettiest, nor flashiest, of colors and when that is all you have, something has to give.
I was on the pier the other day hoping to catch a glimpse of the baby alligator once again. While there, I noticed that the tidepool near the pier was thick with assorted minnows and little fish. I watched with curiosity as they would circle in schools before several would literally jump out of the water. Ahhh, the rivalry of males over the many females was taking place. How, you may ask, did I know that these were males? Well, I knew by their bright, metallic blue scales adorning their backs. During mating season, the males of some of the minnows, a type of killifish, morph a bit and acquire a patch of brightly colored blue scales. These scales glint in the sunshine and attract the females but, being male, the critters have to show their prowess and battle any other male in the territory. The fight is all a huge show which is also aimed at the females of the species (as if those sparkly scales were not enough!). Several years ago, I had a niece dub these fish as "Glitterfish" which is quite the appropriate name!
The killifish continued their courtship ritual all afternoon with the males doing sort of faux battles and the females swimming in circles. It was almost mesmerizing to try and catch a glimpse of the blue flashes but all too soon, the sun started to set and their powers ceased. Although we have a full moon, I opted to not stay on the pier just to see if the scales sparkled at night by moonlight. The little Glitterfish would just have to entertain themselves.
Not many folks even take the time to look at a fish, much less, examine it properly. Either the fish is released or cleaned and eaten. Not a lot of time is spent staring at a fish...alive or dead..except for the pretty little guys in the aquarium. A wild fish just passes through our lives as a fun time or as a food source. (For some of us, it is both. We love to catch the critters but they are also a source of sustenance.) I, on the other hand, examine most everything just out of curiosity.
Mark and I were out on one of our daily hikes when we came across some very large fish scales. We decided these were from a redfish that he had caught back in October. The fish was cleaned and fried up to feed a whole slew of cousins who were in town. When he had cleaned the fish, scales flipped all over the place! Well, obviously, those things do not deteriorate very rapidly. The scales were still in fine condition. Immediately, the wheels in the artist brain started turning. "I can make something with these!" I had no idea just what I would do with the quarter-sized scales but a crafty project just had to be in need of fish scales. I picked up a handful just in case.
Once inside, the scales called for more attention. I held one up to the light and was impressed with the ridges and swirls that made up the scale. Even though these were out on the ground for several months, I could see faint color! This excited me to the point that a backlight was utilized for further inspection. Sure enough, although muted, colors could be seen. This caused me to ponder. Why did a redfish scale contain blue, green, purple and a myriad of other colors? The fish is sort of golden colored not rainbow striped or something!
It seems that fish scales actually have a lot of colors in them. This results in sort of a shimmery, iridescence to the fish while it is in the water. According to the fish experts, this dazzling effect is used to the fish's benefit. When swimming in sunlit waters, the scales almost act like mirrors and can totally confuse larger predators. Well now, that makes sense! Contrary to what folks like me would believe, the fish are not just using their dazzling colors and shimmery scales to be pretty! Perhaps fish are not so vain like a lot of humans. Their flashiness is not to draw attention to themselves but rather escape becoming supper for a larger critter.
Another interesting fact about fish scales is that they can be "read" by the layers. This is sort of like what we learned about the growth of a tree. Using a cross-section of a tree trunk, the growth rings are read to more or less determine the age of the tree. If it was a good growing year, the ring would be wide but if there was a drought or other detrimental factor during the year, the ring would be narrow. Well, it seems that the same goes for fish scales. The rings of the scale can determine whether the fish had plenty to eat or was in clean water. Hmmm? This fish must have had lots to eat! It was huge with gigantic scales! (Yes, I really do examine all of these things and then research them. Pretty interesting stuff out there in nature if we only take the time to look!)
