A fish with three spikes on its back. Three-spined stickleback - a tiny fish that saved the blockades of Leningrad

**A type: H**alf bore.

**Lifestyle: P**elagic.

**Power Type: S**emi-predatory.
**Habitat: B**lack Sea basin, Baltic Sea basin, Arctic Ocean basin, Pacific Ocean basin, Mediterranean Sea basin.

**Appearance:**

The body of three-needle sticklebacks is relatively high, laterally compressed, with a short caudal stem.

Instead of scales, the sides of the body are covered with bone plates, like a shell.

The head is pointed.

The mouth is finite, of moderate size.

Gill membranes accrued to the inter-gill gap, without forming folds across it.

There are three large spines in front of the dorsal fin.

The ventral fins are turned into spikes.

The dorsal and abdominal spines in the raised position are closed with a special latch and are a formidable weapon.

Three-spined sticklebacks live in the sea and in fresh waters; living in the sea are usually larger than freshwater, heavily armed, the lateral carinae on the caudal stem are well developed, the bone plates on the sides of the body form a complete row; in freshwater forms, these plates are found only near the head and on the caudal stem.

The length of the three-spined stickleback in the White Sea is up to 9 cm (*usually the average size of males is 6.5 cm, females is 7.5 cm)*, and in the Pacific Ocean near Kamchatka it is up to 10 cm.

In fresh waters and in more southern regions, the length is usually no more than 4-6 cm.

Color is variable: greenish-brown in freshwater forms and from silver-green to bluish-black in marine; young people have silver.

In spring, during the spawning period, the male`s chest and belly become bright red, the back is emerald green, and the eyes are bright blue.

Dark streaks appear on the female’s sides of the female and the silver-white underside becomes pale yellow.

**Habitat and behavior features:**

Three-spined stickleback equally well lives in sea and fresh water.

Widely distributed off the coast of the northern parts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

It is found off the coast of Murman and in the White Sea, but along the entire coast of Siberia it is not.

It is common on the shores of Europe from the Black and Mediterranean Seas to the Baltic, along the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland; off the coast of America from the Hudson Bay to New Jersey.

In the Pacific Ocean from the Bering Strait south to Korea and California.

In the White Sea, the three-spined stickleback is a real marine pelagic fish.

In the Gulf of Kandalaksha shortly after the autopsy of the sea, at the end of May, in large numbers it approaches the coast.

In some places during the mass approach of the stickleback, the water literally blackens from a continuous mass of fish crowding off the coast.

At this time, you can catch a ton of fish in half an hour with a small draft tax.

Throughout June, the stickleback literally fills the entire coastline and keeps a narrow ribbon near the shore.

In August, the sticklebacks leave for the sea, with the females first leaving, then the males, and in the beginning of September the young also disappear.

In August, numerous flocks of sticklebacks are found throughout the White Sea, even in places farthest from the coast.

They overwinter, probably at a depth of 15-30 m, where layers of water warmed up during the summer remain for a long time.

The stickleback is capable of making grinding or chirping sounds.

**Power Features:**

Despite its small size, the ubiquitous stickleback is very impudent and gluttonous.

It feeds on small crustaceans, insect larvae, worms, caviar and fry of other fish.

A case was noted when, during 5 hours, one stickle-eater ate 74 fry, ide each about 6 mm long, and after another two days swallowed 62.

Eating plankton, it is a competitor to herring.

**Reproduction:**

In mid-June, males appear, the construction of nests and spawning begins.

Although the prolificacy of the stickleback is negligible compared to other fish *(from 65 to 550 eggs*), but due to careful care of the offspring, the percentage of survival of fry is very high.

In late July, fry appear; in August, they keep in flocks in the thickets of sea tragedy, off the coast, and grow rapidly.

Prickly spawning occurs offshore, in the desalinated zone and in the fresh waters of streams and rivers.

During the breeding season, males are very pugnacious and fights between them often end in death: one of the opponents is literally open with sharp spikes.

In spring, the male builds a nest at the bottom on a quiet bank, between the stems of aquatic plants, where there is a constant, but not too strong current.

He collects scraps of water plants and various plant debris there, fastens them with sticky threads and attaches them to the stems of plants.

From time to time, he inspects his structure, as if trying its strength, rubbing its sides against the walls, scraping off the mucus, which serves as a “***plaster”*** to finish the “***room”***.

He also brings pebbles to load the building and give it stability.

It sometimes takes only 2-3 hours to build a nest, but often it takes a week or more to build.

The sizes of the nests are very different: sometimes the nest is the size of a walnut, but it can also be a small tea cup.

Then the male drives the female into the nest. In a few seconds of being in the nest, the female lays up to 100 eggs.

As soon as she marks the eggs, the male chases her out, fertilizes the eggs and after a while goes off in search of another female to add more eggs to the already laid in the nest.

This process is repeated 2-3 times until a sufficient amount of caviar is collected, usually 150-180 eggs.

After that, the male vigilantly guards the nest, violently pounces on everyone who approaches it, repairs it, cleans and aerates the caviar, fanning it with its pectoral fins, creating an influx of fresh water.

The development of eggs lasts from 8 days to two weeks, depending on the temperature of the water.

When the fry appear, the male parses the roof of the nest, turning it into a kind of cradle.

Sometimes he continues to take care of the fry for another month after they are hatched, guards them and prevents them from dispersing from the nest until they grow up.

But in the end, he ceases to be interested in them and can absent-mindedly eat part of his offspring.

Until autumn, fry keep in flocks off the coast in thickets of sea grass, and then go to deeper places.

The life span of a three-spined stickleback is 3-4 years, it reaches maturity in the south by the end of the first year of life, and in the White Sea it is usually at the age of three.

**NINE-BEAR**  - ***Gasterosteus aculeatus*** ***L***. Three-spined stickleback; generally everywhere - stickleback, stickleback; in Odessa - a white stickleback; in Pskov - a spinning top; to Vilensk. lips. - crest; Dahl has a costume, according to Georgi, a slingshot.

In Poland - a cirque, ratsik, goat, chopping, kolachka, cat; Finnish - Rantakala. ***Gasterosteus pungitius L***.

Nine-spined stickleback.

The stickleback is small; est. (*according to Pallas)* - oggalyk.

***Gasterosteus platygaster Kessl.***

In Odessa there is a green stickleback, grassy.

Under this name, several species of small fish are known, which are very remarkable both in their appearance and lifestyle.

All spines are easily distinguished by their spines in front of the dorsal fin, two needles on the abdomen, which replace the abdominal fins, abdominal shield formed by the fusion of the pelvic bones, and the absence of true scales.

In European Russia, there are three types of freshwater sticklebacks - three-spined stickleback, nine-spined stickleback and green, or flat-bellied stickleback, perhaps the last one.

The first back is armed with 3 spines; transverse bone plates (*usually 24-30*) are located on the sides of the body, replacing the scales and gradually tapering to the tail; similar but oblong plates are also located on the back from the nape to the beginning of the caudal fin.

However, in Western Europe there are almost holoboky three-spined sticklebacks (*with 3-6 lateral plates)*.

The back of this stickleback is greenish-brown, sometimes blackish, the sides of the trunk and belly are silver, the chest and throat are pale reddish, while the spawning is red.

Its size is usually 2 -2 1/2 1/2 inches, rarely more.

The nine-spined stickleback at first sight is distinguished by a large number of small dorsal spines, of which there are almost always 10 or 9, with a bare and more elongated body; her back is brownish-green with more or less wide blackish stripes, the belly is silver.

During spawning in males, the sides and belly become completely black, and the abdominal spines are white.
The size of this stickleback is even less than a three-needle.

The flat-bellied stickleback, which is found in the Black Sea, in the lower reaches of the Dnieper and in the standing ilmens of the Astrakhan suburbs, has the same number of dorsal spines with the second species, but its sides are equipped with plates, it is thicker, its head is larger and the abdominal shield is much wider than the other two species.

The latter have almost the same distribution.

Both three-spined and nine-spined sticklebacks are found in almost all European countries, not excluding the most northern, and according to Pallas, almost throughout Siberia.

They are probably lacking only in the Volga basin.

(1) In our country, they are most numerous in the rivers flowing into the Baltic and the White Seas.

Spikes are found in enormous numbers in the rivers and lakes of St. Petersburg province, in Onega and adjacent lakes, where, according to Kessler’s crests, they have propagated to such an extent that they bring terrible harm to fishing, as they consume caviar of other fish in plenty.

Apparently, the three-spined stickleback appeared on Lake Onega later than the nine-pointed stickleback.

The location of the three-pointed stickleback and the nine-pointed stickleback is exactly the same.

They love quiet flow, live in both fresh and brackish water; their favorite refuge are small rivers, ditches, lakes, ilmeni with a silty or silty-sandy bottom and grassy shores.

Sometimes they keep in huge packs and are in constant motion, rush to any fallen object and in some places of the Petersburg province they simply do not allow to catch other fish at all.

Sometimes even they breed to such an extent that they transfer all the fish whose eggs are devoured; between them, especially the three-spined stickleback, armed with harder, longer and stronger spines, it is extremely rare for prey to pikes, perches and other predators, who, even if they decide to starve to hunt for these fish, are often punished for their greed: the stickleback spreads their sharp dorsal and abdominal spines, usually tightly adjacent to the body, and these needles pierce the mouth of the fish.

They are also disheveled in fights between themselves (*which happens very often)* and generally in a moment of danger.

From this it is easy to conclude that these small fish, neglected by fishermen, must reproduce very strongly.

There is even some reason to assume that all the spikes were originally marine or estuarine fish and only gradually spread further and further up the rivers.

Despite the fact that the number of eggs is very small, these fish, so well armed, breed faster because a significant portion of the eggs develops in young fish, which is not seen in our other freshwater species, except sculpin and gobies (***Gobius)***.

The fact is that at the stickleback we have the most remarkable example of a real nest, similar to a bird's one, and we encounter an equally interesting phenomenon of male care for the testicles folded in this nest.

Prickle nesting has been known for a long time, but only about 30 years ago prof.

Costa gave us a detailed description of the spawning of this fish, which he observed in the pools.

The following descriptions give us a very detailed picture of the stickleback lifestyle.

(2) A few days before spawning, beginning in April or May, the thorns take on a brighter color and become very beautiful.

Then the males move away from the big-bellied females, which continue to walk in packs, and, apparently, somewhat more numerous than the first ones, each of the males chooses a place in the grass or at the bottom or first digs a hole in the silt, as it is always done with three-pointed or nine-pointed ones , directly begins to attach blades of grass in the ruins of some water plant or to a leaf of it.

Most often they choose white and yellow water lilies for this purpose.

Having pulled out a hole, the male picks up small grass blades of grass, roots, also algae filaments (*nine-spined stickleback*) and other plant substances, lining the bottom of the pit with them, fixing them in silt and gluing the mucus secreted by the sides of the body, then erects the side walls in the same way, finally, arch.

After that, he puts his nest in order, gives it a more regular shape, pulls out the excess, expands the front hole (*the back is always smaller, and sometimes it doesn’t happen at all)*, smoothes its edges and at the same time carefully drives insects and other fish away.

The finished nest has the shape of a ball or almost a ball and is very beautiful, but with a three-spined stickleback most of it is buried in silt, and therefore it is imperceptible; only occasionally, and even in shallow light water, it is possible to distinguish small elevations, up to 10 centimeters in diameter, it is also very difficult to find nests of nine-needle sticklebacks, since they almost do not differ from the leaves of the aquatic plant to which they are attached.

Having finished the construction of the nest, the male returns to the flock, selects the female ready for laying, and after some courtship, drives her to the designated place, the female climbs into the front hole, lays several dozen eggs there and after 2-3 minutes leaves the opposite hole.

At this time, the male is noticeably excited, and as soon as the female finishes her masonry, he, in turn, enters the nest and sprinkles the eggs with his milk.

But this nest, however, is not for one female: soon the male goes in search of another, third, etc. laying continues for several days in a row until the entire nest is filled with testicles.

The latter are relatively very large; in the female, there are usually up to 100-120 mature eggs simultaneously, but the whole spawning sometimes lasts more than a month, and in a nine-spawning egg, even until the end of July.

Prickly roe is not completely transparent.

But this is not limited to the care of a diligent male.

He stays with the nest, moves away from it only for short distances and jealously guards him from all kinds of enemies, either driving them away from this place, or trying to distract from him the attention of other, more dangerous enemies, especially large fish, who all don't mind eating caviar sticklebacks.

Even the stickleback females themselves destroy their own eggs.

Kessler tells how he tried unsuccessfully to ward off one black male of a nine-pointed stickleback: at first the last one ran away from the nest with each stick movement and returned to it again, but then began to throw himself at the stick, as if to snarl at it like a dog.

This protection of the nest lasts 10-14 days, until the hatching fishes, who have freed themselves from their huge yolk bladder, depriving them of the opportunity to escape from the pursuit, finally leave it.

But even then the first days the male diligently looks after the young and does not allow to swim far from the nest. Moreover, during the development of embryos, a caring father, in order to prevent clogging of eggs, deliberately makes waves of water and intensively moves his pectoral fins in front of the opening of the nest.

This extremely interesting nesting of sticklebacks is easy to observe in a large aquarium with plants and a thick layer of silt at the bottom, where these fish, generally very tenacious, get along very well.

Apparently, they become capable of breeding the very next year, at least in the second year of life, but it is unlikely that they live only 3 years, as Bloch believes.

All thorns are extremely voracious and belong to the number of the most harmful fish.

In the ponds where they penetrate, it is almost impossible to breed any other fish.

Even in such huge pools as Lake Onega, according to the testimony of fishermen, along with the reproduction of these fish, there is a strong decrease in other species, especially vendace.

Here, the stickleback, which spreads in huge numbers every year in all lips, rivers, gradually passes into other adjacent lakes and is not seen only in those that are connected by too fast channels or rivers.

If the sticklebacks didn’t even destroy their eggs, then, of course, they would soon have transferred all the fish.

Due to its size and presence in small places or in rivers, this fish rarely comes online.

However, from the sixties she also went into business; so, for example, in the Dnieper.

Tauride lips. it is used for fertilizer; on the island of Kizhe (*Olonetsk province*), as they say, one peasant started to feed her livestock 20 years ago, before crushing it into powder; (3) In Western Europe, it has long been an excellent feed for poultry.

in the vicinity of Riga, according to Pastor Butner, 30 years ago, a merchant even set up a plant for digesting sticks of fat, and the result was so brilliant that in the first year he was delivered 200,000 barrels of sticks at a price of 40 k. each.

One cannot help but wish for such a successful use in the business of this not only useless, but also extremely harmful fish in other parts of Russia.

It remains to note that although no one, except for the children, is engaged in fishing for sticklebacks, it is difficult to imagine how greedily they grab not only the nozzle, but even the bare hook and a piece of thread.

In the past, on the Petersburg side, I caught a huge amount of these fish just on a piece of a worm tied to a thread, even on a small bare hook, which they mistook for a worm.

This name is quite suitable for the fish of the family of carob (***Gasterostedae*)**, all of whose representatives are armed to one degree or another for attack and defense.

They have folding spikes on the back and belly, and the sides are covered with armor from large bone plates.

They are distinguished by the number of needles on their backs: three, nine, multi-needle ...

A distinctive feature of these small fish is their special care for the offspring.

Three-needle stickleback (***Gasterosteus acileatus*)** refers to differently aquatic fish that are able to live in both sea and fresh water.

She has a moderately elongated, somewhat laterally compressed body, with a short caudal stem.

Instead of scales, the sides are covered with bone plates numbering more than two and a half dozen; with their longitudinal axis, they are located across the body, leaning against each other tiling and, gradually decreasing in size from head to tail, form a clearly visible keel on the caudal stem.

They are pierced by the channels of the lateral line. Several (5-6) bone scutes are present on the back.

Usually 3 are placed on them, less often - 1-2 more or less strong bone spines - free, triangular in shape, strongly serrated from the sides.

In the dorsal fin there are 9-13 branched rays, its apex is straight.

The caudal fin is shorter than the dorsal and resembles it in shape; there are 7-10 branched rays in it, in front of it is a small sharp spike.

The pectoral fins are long, fan-shaped, composed of unbranched rays.

The ventral fins are turned into sharp, strong, serrated bone spines along the upper edge, connected by a fin border with short soft rays.

The dorsal and abdominal spines in the raised position are closed with a special latch, representing a formidable weapon.

Usually the spines are larger in males.

The caudal fin is wide, slightly rounded, without a notch.

The head is relatively large.

The snout is slightly pointed.

The mouth is finite, small, oblique.

The upper jaw is shorter than the lower.

The eyes are relatively large.

Coloring is variable and depends on the age, physiological condition of the fish, its habitat, season of the year.

Usually young individuals are silver.

Males and females also do not differ in color, except for the breeding season.

In winter, they are silver-grayish with a darker back, in summer, greenish and brownish tones with a silver hue predominate - it all depends on the environment: among rare vegetation and on a bright day, the color is lighter, in dense vegetation and on a dark bottom it is darker.

On the eve of breeding, a bright mating outfit appears in the color of the males: the back acquires a bluish tint, the sides sparkle with a silver sheen, the bottom of the head, abdomen and base of the fins are cast in red, which sometimes extends to the sides of the body, and the eyes turn bright blue.

The color intensity of males gradually increases and persists until the end of the breeding season.

In females, a mating outfit appears immediately before laying eggs: dark transverse stripes form on the back and sides of the body, and the lower side of the body becomes pale yellow; soon after spawning, this color disappears.

Eye color in females almost does not change, in males, eyes are colored earlier than other parts of the body and it is always possible, especially in spring, to distinguish males from females.

In the latter, in addition, the abdomen swells from the caviar filling it.

The body length of this fish is not more than 7 cm, weight is about 4.5 g, life expectancy does not exceed 4 years.

A three-spined stickleback is found in desalinated areas of the Azov and Black Seas, in their bays, estuaries, lakes and rivers throughout Ukraine.

Lives in places with stagnant or low-flowing water, with sandy, sandy-clay or slightly silted bottom with well-developed aquatic vegetation.

Leads a pack life. With age, the number of individuals in the pack decreases.

Adults keep scattered or in small flocks at depths of up to 1 m, at the very bottom or in the water column, but always among the vegetation. Young fish rises to the surface of the water, constantly monitors the surrounding area, including even the air. In case of danger, it silently and quickly sinks into the water, as if dissolving in it. It forms larger flocks before breeding, after which it disperses and leads a secretive lifestyle. Reproduction begins at the end of the first year of life, reaching a body length of more than 3.5 cm. Fertility of females 4-5 cm long is not more than 500-2000 eggs. They do not ripen at the same time and are swept out in several stages. The number of servings and the rate of maturation of each serving of caviar, as well as the size of the eggs, are significantly affected by the intensity of feeding the females. In this regard, spawning periods are very long - from April to July, when the water temperature fluctuates between 10-25 °. Spawning occurs in places with a constant slow course, at a depth of 0.3-1 m, at the bottom among the vegetation - there the male builds a nest where eggs are laid and which he guards even after the offspring appears. It feeds on various available sized organisms, both plant (algae) and animal (small crustaceans, insect larvae, worms, eggs and fish larvae) of origin. It does not have commercial value, although it can be used as a feed for poultry, fertilizer for fields, as well as for obtaining feed meal and healing fat during mass development. It can bring some damage to fisheries, eating eggs and larvae of valuable fish, reducing their food supply. So, in general, a three-needle stickleback can be characterized. In addition to the above, it can be an excellent object for keeping and breeding in an aquarium, not inferior to exotic fish in behavior or color, but requiring no less attention.

The three-needle stickleback aquarium should be large enough in area, since each of the males very actively protects their territory around the nest at a distance of at least 30 cm.The height of the aquarium is not significant and depends on the height of the plants with which it will be planted. The bottom should be covered with sand. It is necessary to put a snag or a rough or porous stone on it. Stem moss ( *Fontinalis antipyretica*), which occurs in different reservoirs, but more often where there is a current. This rootless plant - the roots replace it with root-shaped outgrowths-rhizoids, with the help of which it is firmly attached to the snag or stone. It should be borne in mind that this plant must be kept in a cold-water aquarium at a water temperature of 14-20 °. Gradually, it can be accustomed to content at a temperature of about 24 °. Water should be soft with a neutral reaction. Does not withstand turbidity. Water needs to be replaced weekly by 1 / 5-1 / 4 of the volume. Lighting should be moderate, daylight hours should not exceed 12 hours,

In an aquarium for a three-needle stickleback, it is desirable to settle the Canadian Elodea ( *Elodea canadensis*) It satisfactorily grows at a water temperature of 16-24 °. Rigidity and active reaction of water do not matter, but when a plant is transferred from very soft water to hard water, it quickly dies. The reverse movement transfers safely. Due to its very rapid growth, this plant absorbs many substances that accumulate in aquarium water, which contributes to its purification. Lighting should be bright enough, but also moderate. Before pruning, it is better to remove the plant from the aquarium and do all the work with it in a separate container, since its juice is poisonous and can cause the death of fry of fish that live among its branches; in addition, it inhibits the growth of other plants. Propagated by pieces of stem about 20 cm long.

It is advisable to plant a spiral wallisneria in the same aquarium ( *Vallisneria spiralis*) It is unpretentious and quickly multiplies, so it is advisable to plant it in the background and at the side walls of the aquarium. She needs soft water, the active reaction of the water must be neutral or slightly acidic. It grows better with regular water changes. It is undemanding to lighting. It grows well in coarse river sand, the thickness of which can reach 4 cm. It multiplies well by shoots.

An excellent addition to the aquarium plant community can also be a yellow capsule ( *Nuphar luteum*) It grows in reservoirs with clean water - both in the absence of a current and in a weak current. Its rhizome is very thick, numerous roots are placed on its lower surface, with which it is attached to the ground. Leaves are immersed in water and floating on the surface. For transplantation, it is better to take young plants growing from seeds. You can take and carefully excavated rhizomes, which are well cut and planted directly in the sand. With moderate lighting, this plant pleases the eye with its underwater leaves (floating develop in the warm season).

Significantly diversifies the interior of the aquarium and pinnacle ( *Myriophyllum spicatum*) It can be planted in an aquarium by digging a plant with roots in a pond, or by holding a branch in a jar of clean water in the summer until it takes root. Such plants are the most viable and beautiful. It develops better in natural light. It requires clean water, since the particles of turbidity can settle on thin leaves, causing them to die, so it is important to regularly change the water.

Three-spined stickleback starts breeding in the aquarium if it is quite spacious, with a sandy bottom, abundantly planted with plants, and the fish themselves receive a sufficient amount of food in the form of daphnia, bloodworms and tubule. In addition, fish taken from a reservoir in the early spring, before spawning in nature (in March - early April), begin to spawn faster. Not so actively begin to breed fish kept in the aquarium all winter. The process of reproduction is stimulated by sunlight and the purity of water, achieved by the presence of healthy, developing plants, ensuring its natural self-purification. The latter can also be facilitated by the use of a compressor, which ensures the saturation of water with air and its slow circulation.

It must be borne in mind that when catching and transporting sticklebacks, some individuals may be injured. Soon after they are placed in an aquarium, they may develop dermatomycosis (saprolegniosis), caused by mold fungi *Saprolegnia*  and *Achlya*. Stagnant water is the most favorable environment for their development, and insufficiently fresh live food - cyclops and daphnia, as well as plants not washed before planting in the aquarium, are those sources with which mushrooms enter the aquarium. Under natural conditions, the fungus usually develops on rotting plant and animal tissues, on dead insects, fish. At the first time of its appearance, the fish does not show any signs of the disease, but when the fungus grows, it begins to rub against the bottom, plants become lethargic, lose their characteristic vibrancy of movements. Obviously, the fungus is found in the form of a cotton-like plaque on the surface of the body, fins and gills. One of the effective methods of dealing with them is the immediate separation of the sick fish and placing it in a 2% solution of sodium chloride or in a solution of potassium permanganate (1 g per 100 l), as well as complete disinfection of the aquarium, with washing of sand and plants. Measures taken at the beginning of the disease are usually sufficient to completely destroy the fungus. Salt solution has an exciting effect on the fish's body, disinfecting and cleansing its integument. Therefore, it is recommended to lower each fish before planting into the aquarium in a 2% salt solution for a period of 0.5 to 1 hour.

By the way, the same fungus can affect caviar. It settles primarily on unfertilized, dead caviar and eggs, poor in yolk, after which it also infects fertilized eggs, taking oxygen from it and causing death. In this regard, the accumulation of organic substances in spawning should not be allowed; dead eggs should be selected. If during the spawning process of the stickleback some part of the eggs falls to the bottom of the aquarium, they must be removed to prevent the propagation of fungi and to protect healthy eggs. It should be borne in mind that in a calm environment in the aquarium near the stickleback, the dorsal and abdominal needles are folded and almost invisible. If any factors worry her, her spinal needles immediately rise, her abdominal needles spread out - the fish takes a defensive posture - does not float away, but patiently waits for the enemy to hit him with her formidable weapon. If the danger has passed - and the fish takes its former peaceful appearance. Although she will nevertheless throw herself away when the subject of concern is significant in size - for example, a stick. But when the male guards the nest, he will not leave eggs or born fry, forget about his own safety and selflessly throw himself at any enemy.

It is not recommended to settle other fish in the aquarium, where it is supposed to once lead a three-needle stickleback. This is due to the pugnacity of these fish, which with their spikes can cause dangerous wounds to neighbors in the house. In addition, the latter can interfere with the construction of the nest and the subsequent spawning of sticklebacks. The only species of fish that they can get along with, according to N.F. Zolotnitsky, according to observations in Paris and Berlin aquariums, is common minnow ( *Phoxinus phoxinus*).

The increase in water temperature off the coast after long winter colds forces three-needle stickleback producers to move to the coast. The presence of vegetation and a sandy bottom here encourages the male to build a nest, to continue and preserve his offspring. By the combination of the indicated circumstances, it is possible to force the male of the stickleback to do the work aimed at reproduction in the aquarium. It begins with the fact that he is anxiously looking for a place, and when he finds it, he literally "digs the ground with his nose" - digs the bottom with his snout, gradually immersing himself in it with his whole body. With quick and strong movements of it, it forms a depression, the walls of which are soil ejected by the rotation of the body. Having finished this work, the male searches for parts of plants, their roots, takes them in his mouth and drags them into the nest. With them, he lines the bottom first, then the sides and the roof, fastening them together and attaching to the stems of plants with mucus secreted by the kidneys, which were greatly enlarged by this time. To give strength to the nest, the male brings pebbles. The inside of the nest is especially carefully finished, the walls of which are saturated with mucus and are carefully smoothed out by the friction of the body. Building a nest can last 2-3 hours, but sometimes this process takes a week or more. The nest reaches 8-10 cm and has an inlet, and sometimes an outlet, located opposite.

After the construction of the nest is completed, the male, sparkling with bright iridescent flowers of the mating outfit, swims to a group of females, swirls around them and, choosing one, flirts with her, as if inviting to follow to the nest. The female swims to the nest, gets into it through the inlet and stays there for several (1-3) minutes. The male stimulates the laying of eggs by the female, hitting her head from the caudal stem to the head. Having laid about a hundred eggs, the female quickly breaks out through the outlet, and if it is not there, it pierces it. After that, the male enters the nest and pours the eggs with milk. Similarly, the male brings several females and each of them sweeps its portion of eggs, which are located in heaps in the nest. The total number of eggs in the nest is 150-180 pieces.

When the nest is filled with caviar, the male closes the holes and remains near it for up to two weeks. At this time, he not only protects him from numerous enemies (water insects, crustaceans, fish) trying to feast on caviar, but at the same time, with the movements of his pectoral fins, he produces an artificial wave of water, thereby refreshing it, which prevents the eggs from decaying. After laying eggs, the female must be removed immediately, the male is removed after 3-4 days, when the young leaves the nest. If this is not done, the male can destroy the female, and he will destroy the offspring, the appearance of which spent so much time and effort. Before hatching from the eggs of the larvae, the male assembles the roof, thus providing an influx of fresh water to them. Larvae appear after 4-15 days. At first, the male takes care of them, placing them in a nest if they sail too far from it. After resorption of the yolk bladder, juveniles begin to eat algae on the glass of the aquarium; they feed it with ciliates, and eventually cyclops. In the aquarium, the stickleback lives no more than two years. Here is a general outline of the behavior of these fish in keeping and breeding them in an aquarium. More detailed moments of the behavior of the males during the construction of the nest, its protection, the relationship between the producers, between them and the offspring should be clarified by the owner of the aquarium - the experimenter. These will be very valuable observations, as they will be made independently in a reservoir artificially created by the mind and hands of an amateur aquarist. You should not be upset if your pets, having lived two winters and leaving offspring, die (moreover, females are faster than males) - sticklebacks belong to fish with a short cycle and therefore their life is short. Raise healthy offspring from healthy producers, taking the latter from nature and thereby avoiding closely related crosses.

In the reservoirs of Ukraine, in addition to the three-spined stickleback, the small-headed stickleback is also found in the southern small ( *Pungitius platigaslei*), which differs from the previous one by the presence in front of the dorsal fin of 7-12 free spines and somewhat smaller sizes. During the breeding season, the male becomes blue-black, with white abdominal spikes; the nest builds more often among the stems of aquatic plants in the form of a sleeve, and therefore it is more convenient to observe the process of nest construction and spawning. There are few differences in the way of life of both sticklebacks - at least, it seems to ichthyologists who have observed the life of these fish in their natural environment. Aquarists can reveal such features that cannot be seen in nature. This is especially true for the relationship of sticklebacks with the environment, since this has not been studied sufficiently in Ukrainian reservoirs. Consequently, both sticklebacks can be objects of both keeping and breeding in domestic ponds and observe them no less, and maybe even more interesting than exotic fish - the latter is the subject of numerous publications, which cannot be said about stickles - knights of our reservoirs , the continuation of the genus of which is carried out (with low fecundity) only due to the special care of their offspring. The knowledge of this side of their life alone will bring true pleasure to passionate lovers of nature. By the way, while among the higher vertebrate animals, cases of "adoption" of foreign offspring are observed quite often, then this fact was established among fish for the first time precisely thanks to sticklebacks. No less interesting is the behavior of males in the protection of their breeding territory. It is amusing to watch how a bold visitor escapes from the guard, and as they approach the nest of the troublemaker, they change roles. At the borderline, the fish behave in a very peculiar way - they lower their heads down and peck sand, but the spikes sticking upwards indicate that they are still excited.

To anyone who is interested in these pygmies of our fish world, I advise you to catch them in a nearby pond and instill them in an aquarium - you will certainly see a lot of interesting and funny things, you will certainly make your own discoveries.

A. Ya. SHCHERBUKHA, senior researcher at the National Museum of Natural History of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

The three-spined stickleback has a relatively high laterally compressed body, sharply lowering towards the caudal fin. Dorsal and anal fins

shifted to the back of the body and are located under each other. 3-4 strong spines are usually placed in front of the dorsal fin, one spine in each ventral fin. They are equipped with a special locking mechanism, due to which they are fixed in a straightened state and do not fold even under strong pressure in the mouth of a predator. The stickleback does not have scales; instead, the body of many individuals is reliably protected by a number of side plates or shields. According to the degree of development of the flaps on the body, three forms of sticklebacks are distinguished: a form in which a row of a large number of plates stretches mail along the entire body, is called *trachurus*the shape with a small number of plates is called *leiurus*and the intermediate between the two forms is *semiarmatus.*Spikes are very rare and generally have no plates on the body. In addition to these plates, many individuals have a keel of smaller plates on the caudal stem. It can occur in each of the three forms, but not found in three-needle sticklebacks without plates on the body. All forms of sticklebacks are currently the subject of numerous studies on the problems of the inheritance of the number of plates, the relationship between the degree of development of plates and spines, and the dependence of these structures on the press of various predators in water bodies.

The color of the body at the stickleback varies depending on the type of pond and season, and changes to the spawning period. In winter, the side sticks and belly that live in the sea are silver-white, the back and top of the head are blue, and in summer the back of the head and top of the body up to the lateral line are blackish-gray. Freshwater thorns from ponds with dark water or with dense vegetation have a silvery light abdomen and a dark (brown or green) back, dark spots are scattered on the body. In some reservoirs there are also completely black fish. By the time of spawning, the stickleback males become very beautiful. The back acquires a bluish tint, the body casts with silver, and the abdomen, lips, cheeks and base of the fins gradually turn red and finally reach a bright red, cinnabar color. Eyes are painted with azure or lilac-blue paints. In some ponds, spawning males become completely black. In females, the mating outfit is weakly expressed: several large transverse dark spots of a rhombic shape appear on the bright back, cast with a metallic sheen, and the sides are pale yellow. Spikes reach a size of 11-12 cm, more often fish are 4-6 cm long.

Three-spined stickleback is widespread in the basins of the northern parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In Europe, it lives from Novaya Zemlya, the White Sea, the Kola Peninsula and Iceland to the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and is in the Baltic Sea. In America, inhabits reservoirs from Greenland to New York. It is found along the Pacific coast from the Bering Strait to Korea, is on the Kuril and Japanese islands, along the American coast - from Alaska to Southern California. In the waters of Russia, it is common in the European part (except for the Caspian Sea basin) and in the water bodies of the Pacific basin.

In the way of life, marine, freshwater and migratory sticklebacks are distinguished. The marine form constantly lives in coastal areas of the sea and breeds in shallow waters with salinity up to 20-25 ppm. This form is known to us from the Kandalaksha Bay of the White Sea. Spikes are usually larger than freshwater and better armed, since predator press is much stronger in seawater. However, the idea that the three-spined stickleback is reliably protected from predators by its spines and plates is clearly exaggerated. If there are other unarmed victims in the pond, predators do often avoid sticklebacks, but not always. There are cases when pikes selectively ate a stickleback in a pond, although there were more than enough carp fish there. For a large predator with a wide-open mouth, the arms of the stickleback are not a particular problem. And some insects that feed on small fish (dragonfly larvae, water beetles), on the contrary, even prefer stronger armed sticks, which are easier for them to grab and hold by thorns than fry with a smooth and slippery body.

Passing sticklebacks live in the sea, but breed in the spring-summer period in fresh waters - streams, rivers and lakes. After spawning, adults die or go back to the sea and winter near the coast or far from them over great depths. After some time, juveniles also slide into the sea. It is shown that the marine and passing forms can pass into each other. Obviously, those sticklebacks that did not have enough space in freshwater spawning grounds spawned in the sea. Freshwater sticklebacks live and breed in fresh waters without going to sea, even if the freshwater reservoir is not isolated from it. Various small organisms feed on sticklebacks: invertebrates of the upper water layers, diatoms, insect larvae, worms, fish roe and juvenile fish, mollusks, aerial insects. The nutritional spectrum in each particular pond depends on the availability of food for different seasons.

The stickleback spawns usually in April-August, depending on the temperature and light conditions of the reservoir. In Southern California, breeding individuals are found year-round. A few days before spawning, the male chooses a place for himself at the bottom and digs a hole there. Then, having collected small grass blades of grass or other plant material in his mouth, he lines the bottom of the fossa with them, fixing and gluing it with the mucus produced by the kidneys and

secreted from the genitourinary opening. Then the male builds in a similar way the side walls of the nest, and then the arch. After that, he puts the nest in order, giving it a more regular, almost spherical shape, expanding the inlet and smoothing the edges. At the same time, the male carefully drives away from the nest all insects and other fish. Usually he attacks the alien with a quick direct throw and, if he does not take flight, bites him or, grabbing his tail, pulls him from the guarded territory. During skirmishes with individuals of their kind, spines are usually not used.

For the construction of stickleback nests, the most shallow zone of water bodies with heated and relatively transparent water, the presence of dead vegetation and soft soils is chosen. Typically, nests are located at a depth of 20-50 centimeters. Females do not take any part in the work and approach the nest only in the final phase of construction. At this time, the male ceases to react aggressively to females, as to extraneous aliens. When a female appears, he moves toward her, performing a “zigzag” dance: a series of jumps to and from the female. Each jump from the female symbolizes an invitation to her to the nest, and the jump to the female is part of the general aggressive behavior of the male. In this case, the male’s mouth is open, and the thorns are straightened. The mature female takes a characteristic head-up pose in response to this dance. The male swims to the nest, dragging the female along with him, and shows her the entrance to the nest. The female “brakes” when she enters the nest, quickly pushing her snout to the sides. After the female swallows eggs, the male quickly inseminates and drives the female from the nesting area. Then the male proceeds to parental duties: he pushes the fertilized eggs deeper into the nest, squeezes it into the bottom, smoothes it, making it flatter, then lengthens the nest and narrows the entrance so that the next portion of eggs does not lay directly on the previous one, but is tiled relation to the first. All this time, the male often ventilates the nest with movements of the pectoral fins. At this time, he is very aggressive and does not pay attention to the opposite sex. But, after about an hour, having completed his work, the male again proceeds to courtship and within a day can collect up to 6-7 clutches in the nest.

After the nest is completely filled, the females cease to be interested in the male, and he completely devotes himself to posterity. It moves away from the nest only for short distances and jealously guards it from all enemies, periodically ventilating, picking and eating dead eggs. This guard lasts 10-14 days, until the last hatched fishes left the nest. About a week the male takes care of the free-floating juveniles, trying to keep her together at the nest.

Females lay eggs in portions in nests of different males. One serving, depending on the size of the female, can contain from 20 to 400 eggs, and the total fertility per season - up to 1400 eggs. During the season, males and females can participate in reproduction up to 10 times. In some populations, after the first spawning, the majority of individuals die. In general, sticklebacks live 1-5 years, but usually 2-3 years. Many of them, including juveniles, become victims of various predatory fish and other animals, including insects and birds.

The fishing value of the three-spined stickleback is small. It is used to make fodder flour and fat, used in medicine to treat wounds and burns.

There are also nine-spined stickles in our waters, in which in front of the dorsal fin there are usually 7-12 (rarely 6 or 13) spines directed in different directions. Of these species, the most widespread **nine-needle**or **small, stickleback***(Pungitius pungitius),*living in the island and continental freshwater bodies and marine coastal waters of the Arctic Ocean basin and the northern parts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In our country, this species is absent only in the basins of the Black and Caspian Seas; along the Pacific coast, a nine-spined stickleback reaches the mouth of the Amur River and is found throughout Sakhalin, on the Shantar and Kuril Islands. Its semi-aisle form lives in the coastal part of the sea, and propagates either in brackish lagoons and bays, or rises in fresh water. Males also build a nest from vegetation, but not at the bottom of a reservoir, but above the ground among plants. In addition to the nest for caviar, the male also builds a second nest located above the first - a “cradle” for larvae. A close freshwater species lives on Sakhalin - the Sakhalin nine-spined stickleback *(P. tymensis).*She prefers standing reservoirs or rivers with a weak current, densely overgrown with vegetation, where she leads a secretive lifestyle. Chinese, or Amur, nine-spined stickleback *(P. sinensis)*found on the Pacific coast of Asia from western Kamchatka to Korea and the Bohai Bay in China, on the Shantar, Kuril and Japanese islands and on Sakhalin. This is a freshwater species that prefers bodies of water with a weak current. In all nine-pointed stickleback males, by the time of spawning, males become coal-black with white abdominal spines, and only in the small southern **spikes***(P. platygaster),*common in the basins of the Black, Caspian and Aral

seas, spawning brightens only the back surface of the abdominal spines, facing the female, when the male leads her to the nest. The southern stickleback lives in brackish estuaries and bays of the seas, fresh lakes, rivers and streams and leads a secretive lifestyle in dense thickets of vegetation, where males build their nests.

In the Baltic Sea, there is also a sea stick, or long-snout, common in the western Atlantic (from Norway to the Bay of Biscay). *(Spinachia spinachia).*Single specimens of this species are found in the Luga Bay. This fish, reaching a length of 15-20 cm, has a very elongated body with a large number (40-42) of lateral plates. In addition to the lateral row, there are a number of bone scutes on the upper and lower sides of the caudal part of the body, which form a solid bone carapace to the tail. Dorsal spines usually 15, they are directed in different directions. This stickleback lives in sea water at salinity from 5 to 35 ppm, and perishes in fresh water. The male builds a nest among the algae in the coastal part of the sea.

Inhabits the waters of Russia and the representative of another family of Pimperous - Short-feathered gerbils (Hypoptychidae). Short-stalked gerbil *(Hypoptychus dybowskii)*widespread in the Sea of \u200b\u200bJapan, in the southern part of the Sea of \u200b\u200bOkhotsk, off the island of Shikotan and on the northern shores of Japan in the Pacific Ocean. This is a small (up to 9.5 cm long) sea fish with a completely bare elongated body densely strewn with small dark spots. She has no ventral fins, but the dorsal and anal are shifted to the tail of the body and are located under each other. The caudal fin is forked, eyes are large, mouth with protruding lower jaw. Along the middle of the abdomen, from the pectoral fins to the anus, there is a clearly visible, almost transparent fold of skin. This species lives in the water column at the bottom, at a shallow depth, where it is kept in small flocks.

*Fish. - M .: Astrel. E.D. Vasilieva. 1999.*

**Synonyms**:

Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efrona Animal Life

**COMMUNICATION OF ANIMALS**  - All animals have to get food, defend themselves, guard the borders of the territory, look for mating partners, take care of the offspring. All this would be impossible if there were no systems and means of communication, or communication, animals. ... ... Encyclopedia of Collier