(Artwork and description by player Regina Carey)
 

SPECKLE FISH

Speckle fish , so named for their spotted scales, are large salt water fish. They live out in the open oceans, where no one is quite sure. The fish swim in large schools as some form of protection against sea predators.
The fish have streamlined bodies which in able them to cut through the water incredibly easy. Also, these fish have two sets of fins. Two large ones near the base of their heads and two smaller ones about midway down their bodies. Able to move all four fins together or separately, speckle fish are extremely agile in the water. Though they rarely use their back fins. These are used when they need an extra burst of speed. They are able to practically fly through the water with a burst of speed when moving all four fins in unison. Giving them a slight advantage over predators. The speckle fish's fins, dorsal fin, and tail fin, and its belly right up to it's jaw is a pale reddish pink. The male's fins and belly, being slightly darker than a female's. The upper half of its body is a dull brown speckled with darker brown spots. Dividing the two colors is a thin streak of silvery white. Another adaptation on Speckle fish is that they have no gills. Instead, they have protuberances just in front of their larger fins, almost like nostrils. These opening take in large amounts of water into the slight bump on top of the speckle fish's head. Where oxygen is shifted out before the water is flushed back out. Enabling them to take in more oxygen than other fish. And both males and females have two tendrils on either side of their mouths dangling through the water. Which seems to pick up movement in the water.

The size of one of these fish varies not on their sex, but on their age. A year old Speckle fish reaches, at most 6" to 8" long. A two year old, 9" to 1' in length and a three year old 1'1" to 1' 6" in length. And fishermen's nets are usually shaped so that these fish can easily swim through. A four year old Speckle fish is 1'7" to 2' in length, and a five year old reaches 2'1' to 3' ft in total, weighing 4 to 5 lbs. And it is usually these that the fishermen go after. Though about 50 years ago, according to records, a deep sea fisherman did capture a speckle fish which was an astounding 4' in length which has fishermen wondering, how long do speckle fish live, and how large can they grow. Speckle fish feed on seaweed, plankton and smaller fish, including smaller Speckle fish.

In early spring, the Speckle fish begin to flock to the banks off Derico's shore to spawn. The spawning season lasts from early spring thaw tell autumn. Late comers, often feeding off the newly hatched of those that arrived first. The females lay their eggs in a shallow depression in the seabed they dig out with their mouths, as a male swims nearby keeping away other males. After the female moves off to dig a new hole for more eggs, the male drops his seed among the eggs and covers them with sand to try and hide the nest from other males. After a period of three days of spawning, the females leave, as males remain, waiting for other females. Only after autumn do the males leave also.