Gasterosteus aculeatus - Three-spined
Stickleback
The three-spined stickleback is very common in Welsh
rivers, canals and lakes. In rivers, in particular, it is a fish of the
slow-flowing lowland reaches, but because of its habit of colonising tiny
bays and backwaters it is sometimes able to thrive in surprisingly swift
streams.
In spring the male stickleback develops a red throat
and belly (the male in the picture is a few weeks away from full spawning
colours) and it builds a nest from vegetation beside the bank.
Sticklebacks usually spawn in May and June. The adults look after their
eggs and protect the young larval fish during their first few days of life
- an unusual trait for a fish.
Ten-spined stickleback
At just three or four centimetres when fully grown,
the tiny ten-spined stickleback (Pungitius pungitius), is another
common species in the north and east of Wales. It is the smallest of
Britain's freshwater fishes and is most often found in the brackish water
of river estuaries or in weedy ponds and ditches.
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