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What the heck is a rotifer?

January 15th 2012 22:11
Ever hear of a rotifer? Don't feel bad if you haven't but it may be one of those things you always knew about but never knew the name of.

colonial rotifers
Colonial rotifers such as these gather in a group around a milimeter in diameter,
Rotifers are nearly microscopic plankton-like animals which are found throughout most of the world in both salt and fresh water but mainly in fresh water.
feeding rotifer
Another variety you may find.
If you look at a drop of lake water you may think there's a speck of dust in the water because rotifers are only 0.1 to 0.5 mm long. Some rotifers are free swimming but others inch their way through the mud. No matter which you run across, they're small enough you're going to have to look carefully or overlook them!


You may be reading this and say, "So what?" Not so fast! Many animals, such as other plankton, herring, crappie, salmon,or even jellyfish, and starfish feed on rotifers. It turns out they may be pretty low on the food chain but a lot of life depends on these tiny organisms.


You can look at it this way--do we fish for them? Hardly. Do they affect our fishing? Definitely!




Remember to take the hooks outta yer pocket before ya sit down!


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Science weighs in on fish vision

December 24th 2011 14:28
Plenty of theories exist on the subject of fish vision and anecdotal evidence evidence abounds in anglers' circles.

Despite the the stories you hear down at the pier, true science has only tackled the subject of color distinction in a handful of species.

[ Click here to read more ]
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The Oklahoma Octopus

December 9th 2011 22:30
Sometimes insomnia can be a good thing as I discovered a few nights ago when there wasn't much on the tube. I ran across an episode of Lost Tapes on Animal Planet talking about the Oklahoma Octopus.

If you're not familiar with Lost Tapes, it's basically one of those programs exploring weird happenings in nature and, like all programs of that ilk, asks more questions than it answers.

[ Click here to read more ]
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Most people know that whales communicate by a series of clicks and whistles. Did you know that piranhas do something very similar?

Piranhas

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PIRANHA In U.S.!

September 28th 2011 22:36
PIRANHA
Normally, when you hear about piranha, you think South America. Well, now they're in the U.S. too as a six year old girl discovered when she went fishing with her family at Tom Bass Park near Houston, Texas.

Since you don't see piranha every day in any of the U.S., it goes without saying these people we not sure of what the had. To make this story even more unbelievable, the little girl caught the fish on a piece of hot-dog!

[ Click here to read more ]
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River Monsters returns in April

March 6th 2011 01:56
If you're a fan of Animal Planet's River Monsters the wait is over.

New episodes of River Monsters will begin airing Sunday, April 10.

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Albino musky landed

February 28th 2011 03:11
Here's a pretty neat story I ran across the other day.

An angler in Wisconsin hauled in an albino musky.

[ Click here to read more ]
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70 year old lands record halibut

December 20th 2010 00:39
Here's a story about a 70 year old angler from Germany who landed a halibut so big it can provide enough meat for almost 1000 fish dinners!

halibut
In the article, a German angler catches a fish in Iceland. Doesn't that show the international spirit of angling? Also, I think this is an example of real people. After all, it's not some "he-man" story where the guy and his mate pulled a monster fish onto the boat. The reality of needing the help of five crew members is mentioned in the article.

[ Click here to read more ]
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New fish found

December 17th 2010 16:03
With animal species disappearing every day, it's uplifting when you hear about the discovery of a new species.

That's what has happened in Japan except the discovery was a fish long thought extinct.

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A little on the spoon bill catfish

October 21st 2010 03:40
North America's answer to the swordfish would have to be the spoonbill catfish, also known as the "paddle fish."

Once common in many parts of America and even into Canada, overfishing and habitat changes have caused major population declines. Happily, paddlefish were redcently spotted in Europe's Danube river. However, It hasn't been determined if the fish escaped from fish farms during European floods, or whether they were let into the river earlier and matured there.

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Another danger--water mocassins!

July 30th 2010 05:23
cottonmouth, water moccasin, water snake
If you live in the Southeastern region of the U.S., you may run across water moccasins. Also called swamp moccasin, black moccasin, viper, or cottonmouth, these snakes are around a yard long and 1.5-3 inches in diameter--much like their relative, the copperhead.

water moccasin
Although the majority of water moccasins are almost totally black, the color pattern may vary and they may have banding coloration as you can see from the photo at the right.

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Flying carp on TV

July 18th 2010 21:52
Although I deserve a big paycheck for this plug, I will mention that National Geographic Television is having a program tonight at 10 p.m. Eastern on Asian Carp.

Flying carp have been a problem in the Mississippi River for some time and looks to be getting worse.

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More Asian Carp found

June 27th 2010 01:42
Way back in October of 2007, I posted a video of flying carp or, more accurately Asian Carp. (Yeah, I've been on Orble a while!)

An invasive species, Asian Carp have turned up in the US, Australia, and other parts of the world with alarming frequency. People may say, "It's just a fish. What's the big deal?" The problem is that the Asian Carp eliminates nearly EVERYTHING in its surroundings and quickly rises to the top of the food chain wherever you find them. That means all the bass, other carp, pan-fish and even plankton soon vanish from the ecosystem.

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Say what??? A two-headed fish?*

February 15th 2010 00:12
You know that science fiction cartoon depicting animals transformed into mutant freaks because of pollution?

It may be truer than we thought because Australian officials are looking into the deaths or mutation of several fish at a Queensland hatchery.

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A Nessie for the Yanks

November 22nd 2009 05:06
NOrmandy Nessie
These shots were in the Inquisitor.

First it was Scotland, then Canada. Now a "Nessie" has turned up in the States! Reports of a Loch Ness type creature are turning up in the Florida area. The animal has been sighted in Florida's canals and was first thought to be a large snake before a fin was claimed to have been seen.

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Presistoric fish you can catch

August 20th 2009 01:17
sturegon
Does anyone else think this looks like a cross between a pike, catfish, and shark?

You may not be making a trip to Jurrasic Park but, catching a sturgeon is the next best thing. These fish, found in Asia, Europe, and parts of North America, are virtually unchanged from their prehistoric origins dating back to around 200 million years ago.

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Invasive catfish

July 26th 2009 00:49
Hooking a catfish can be one of the best freshwater experiences you'll ever have so, when I saw this story about putting catfish on par with sharks I was intrigued.

I was taken in because catfish can be pretty mean and can grow to unbelievable sizes.

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New information on fish pain

July 14th 2009 01:04
pumpkinseed fish

Here's another report weighing in on the topic of fish pain. Do fish feel pain or not? I've posed that question before so I'm not going to go overboard with my opinion. However, I will say WE'RE AT THE TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN, DUDE! LIGHTEN UP!

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Ogopogo--Canada's Nessie

May 31st 2009 02:43
I was watching TV a few weeks ago and saw a report on something I'd never heard about before--Canada's Ogopogo. The bottom line is Ogopogo is the name given to a lake creature, resembling the Loch Ness Monster, reported to live in Okanagan Lake, in British Columbia, Canada.

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Seasick fish?

May 12th 2009 00:33
Life is full of oxymorons--liberal republican--military intelligence--you probably know a few more. Think it's a oxymoron if fish get seasick? It's certainly ironic!

Studies have shown that fish can exhibit signs of "seasickness" .

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