Open Water Habitat

Channel Catfish
by William and John

The Channel catfish is a poplar lake fish. The Channel cat is fish that is good for its meat. The meat of a Channel catfish tastes like hushpuppies to me. The Channel catfish has two differences, its tail and its whiskers. It uses its tail to slap predators. Then it gets away fast. It uses its whiskers to sting predators, and its sting really hurts.
The channel catfish lays 10,000 eggs a year. The mother is not around the eggs much. The father stays with the eggs and guards them from predators. The life of this creature is neat. I think it would be sort of cool to be a channel catfish, because I'd have stingers.

Walleye
by John and William

A walleye is a fish that is greenish brown, and its body is long and slender. The walleye has strong canine teeth, and the upper jaw extends to breathe. Walleyes spawn in early March, and the female produces 25,000 to 50,000 eggs per pound of body weight. The walleye likes to be at the bottom of lakes, on sand bars, ledges, and dropoffs. Walleyes like to be away from the sun. That's why it lives on sandbars, ledges, and dropoffs. If you want to catch a walleye, deep running lures and live minnows will do the job.

The Canvas back duck
by Brian

          The Canvas back duck lives on the sides of Canada, the east side, west side, and the south side. Sometimes it lives on the north side of Canada. It also lives in some parts of Mexico. The duck stays in the mountains, because it blends in with its color.
         The Canvas back duck eats minnows and other small fish. The shape of the Canvas back duck is almost like a nomal duck's shape, but its neck is smaller than a normal duck. The Canvas back duck is about six inches wide and about one foot long. The Canvas Back Duck is redish brown, brown, white, black, and gray.
         This duck gets its food by diving into the water and grabbing it. The duck protects itself by diving down to the bottom of the water and waiting until its enemy is gone. It can dive up to 30 feet. down in the water.

Loon
by Brian

The Loon has a green head. The loon's bill turns black in breeding season. In winter, its bill is gray. The Loon has a white ring around its neck. The Loon also has a white breast with white spots on its back. It has a long neck and oval head. Its body is oval too. Loons are 32 inches long.
It mostly lives in the northern states and migrates south for the winter . The way it protects itself is by diving ten feet down into water.

Pied billed grebe
by Brian

The Pied billed grebe has a torpedo-shaped body and a short beak. Grebes are black, yellow, brown, and white. It has a big head and a short neck. The grebe lives in open waters all over the United States. It doesn't migrate like other birds that fly south for the winter. The grebe is 1 1/2 feet (32cm) long.
The grebe protects itself by hiding in the water. It stops hiding when the water comes up to its head. The grebe also dives under water and eats minnows. In winter, the grebe's throat turns red.

Minnow
by Alisha

            A minnow can be many different sizes. The average minnow is anywhere under 10 centimeters, although some can grow up to 50 centimeters in length. The reason it can grow that large is because the minnow is related to the carp.
         A minnow is silvery most of the year. In the spring both male and female change to a brighter color for breeding season.
         Most minnows eat other small fish or algae. Some minnows swim around the water with their mouth open to catch any plankton, bugs, or floating algae.
         Most minnows are not protected, but the Log perch, that is commonly found in the Roanoke River, is protected.
         A minnow is commonly found in any lake, pond, river, or creek. Since the minnow is related to the carp, it can live many places.

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Date Updated: January 25, 2001