The Fish Olympics: Finishing Off

So, after four fin-filled events we come to the end of the Fish Olympics. It's been a day of triumph and tails and we hope you've enjoyed it.

So what have we learned?

Some fish, like the shark and mackerel, use speed to catch their lunch and to escape bigger, hungry fish. They have: pointed noses and smooth, cigar shaped outlines strong muscles, fins and tails to power them through the water fins for good balance and a quick turnaround These adaptations help the fish to "fly" through the water. Read Ray Mullet's expert analysis of the 100m Swim	Blue shark © Paul Naylor
Some fish don't need to use speed and agility to survive. Instead they use: colour and pattern, eg sea dragon texture, eg stonefish very slow movement, eg sea dragon to look like their surroundings and to avoid being seen by food and foe. Read Ray Mullet's expert analysis of the Cross Country Camouflage	Leafy Sea Dragon © Below Water
Fish go to great lengths to breed - some more than others. some fish live in the sea and breed in rivers, or vice versa, eg salmon others travel thousands of miles to find a mate, eg European eel all fish use displays to attract a partner, eg sea horse Read Ray Mullet's expert analysis of the Long Distance Breed	European eel © The Environment Agency
Fish have different ways of getting a meal the frogfish uses camouflage to grab unsuspecting prey barracuda uses smash and grab, with speed and sharp teeth the anglerfish lures fish with what looks like a meal Read Ray Mullet's expert analysis of the Eating Event	Sargassum anglerfish (Histrio histrio) © Photomax

Goodbye from the Fish Olympics and thank you for watching!