Ricefish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ricefish |
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| Oryzias woworae | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Beloniformes |
| Suborder: | Adrianichthyoidei |
| Family: | Adrianichthyidae M. C. W. Weber, 1913 |
| Sub-families & Genera | |
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Sub-family Adrianichthyinae Weber, 1913
Sub-family Oryziinae Myers, 1938
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The ricefishes are a group of small fish. They belong to a family called Adrianichthyidae. You can find them in fresh water and slightly salty water. They live in places from India to Japan and islands like Sulawesi.
They are called ricefishes because some kinds live in rice paddies. There are about 37 different kinds of ricefish. They are grouped into two main types, or genera. Some kinds of ricefish are rare and in danger. A few might even be extinct.
Contents
What are Ricefishes Like?
Most ricefish are very small. This makes them popular for aquariums. The fish in the Adrianichthys group can be from 8.5 to 17.1 centimeters long. The largest Oryzias fish can grow up to 8 centimeters. Many Oryzias species are much smaller. The tiniest ones are only about 1.6 centimeters long.
Ricefish have special features. Their jaws are shaped in an unusual way. They also have an extra bone in their tail.
The Japanese Ricefish
The Japanese rice fish (Oryzias latipes) is also known as the medaka. It is a very important fish for science. Scientists use it to study how living things grow and develop. This fish has even traveled into space! It was the first vertebrate (animal with a backbone) to mate and have healthy babies in space.
Scientists believe ricefish first developed on the island of Sulawesi. From there, they spread to the Asian mainland.
How Ricefishes are Classified
For a long time, ricefish were grouped with other fish in an order called Cyprinodontiformes. But in the 1980s, scientists found that ricefish were a unique group. They looked at the bones in their gills and throat.
Now, ricefish are usually placed in the order Beloniformes. They are their own family within this order, called Adrianichthyidae. More recent studies using DNA also support this idea.
History of Keeping Ricefish
People have probably kept ricefish as aquarium pets since the 1600s. The Japanese ricefish was one of the first kinds to be kept. People have bred them to have a golden color. Originally, they were white.
Ricefish Life Cycle and Reproduction
Most fish lay their eggs, and then the eggs are fertilized outside the body. This is how many ricefish reproduce too. However, some ricefish, like the Japanese ricefish, fertilize their eggs inside the female's body. The female carries the eggs as the babies grow. She then lays the eggs just before they hatch.
Other kinds of ricefish carry their eggs attached to their body. They hold the eggs between their pelvic fins.
Images for kids
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A Daisy's Ricefish, also known as Oryzias woworae.
See also
In Spanish: Adrianictíidos para niños
