Survey: What is your favorite sea creature?

My 3rd grade dd is working on an ocean unit. We found this survey (on abcteach), and she would like to see if you would respond for all family members (or however many may have an opinion).

Here are some choices, but you can add your own if you like!

dolphin, blowfish, eel, killer whale, lobster, horseshoe crab, jellyfish, coral, squid, oyster, walrus, sea turtle...

We will run this for about a week to ten days, depending on responses, and report the results to you at the conclusion.

Thankyou so much!

 

DS ~ EEL
DD ~ DOlPHIN
ME~ SEA OTTER

Tammy, missing the four years I lived in Monterey California 8)

 

ds- angler fish
dd - dolphin
ds - gar(sp.?)
dd - sea horse
me - sea horse

 

Me- Dolphin
DD (11)- Whale
DD (4)- "Nemo"- I guess she'll vote for a clownfish

Heidi

 

Thanks so far ya'll!

Sabrina, what is a gar? I'll try to look it up......

 

We have gars here in the Mississippi River. We call them billygars. They are longer than they are thick (by about a 5:1 ratio),have teeth, and look like a sea creature...lol.

 

dd-starfish
ds-barracuda
me-sea turtle babies

Here is a definition of a gar for you, Deena:

gar [ gaar ] (plural gar or gars)


noun

1. American freshwater fish: a large primitive freshwater fish found in North and Central America that has a heavy armor of bony scales and a long toothy jaw. Family Lepisosteidae.
Also called garfish
Also called garpike

 

DD8: dolphins or whales

DD10: is too concerned with wanting the "right" answer that she can't give an answer, because she might answer and then decide she might like another one more, which is totally different from my youngest who said.....

DS5: "All of them.....except jellyfish and sharks....."

 

DH: Needlenose Gar (have them in my freshwater tank)
DS: eels, especially moray
DD: no doubt Dolphins
Me: Polypterus Senegalus... (have them in my freshwater tank)
looks like this http://community.webshots.com/user/rezelee

 

Brooke, Thanks for the definition, that's great! I have never heard of it before---cool, ya learn somethin' new every day! Small question Brooke: If it is also called garfish or garpike, then why do you call them billygars?!! :lol: (This goes back to your comment that when you write something noone knows what it is, etc. in the other thread) Just kidding, just thought I'd "rib" ya! :wink:

Jackie, Haha! Did she ever decide? :shock: My sister was like that! I was more like your 5-yo--I liked everything!

Thanks for your answers!

 

Deena,
Here in our lakes we have Alligator Gar. We were thinking of the one that ate Nemo's family in Finding Nemo. Here they feast on the fish in the lake. You can find them usually when they get in the shallows to eat the fish eggs. They roll and stir up the water. They are about 2-3 feet long and have a long toothy grin - rather scary and ugly. They are quite a lot of fun to catch if you can ever hook one, but not to eat. I have never looked for a picture of one - I think I will try.

Sorry to throw you off - Sabrina

 

Well, Deena, I guess I could have elaborated about billygars.....we have found them occasionally in the river, you know that big river ya come to when you follow the crick down in the holler over yonder, jus past the fishin' hole a ways. :wink: They aren't good eatin' so they always get thrown back. :lol:

 

So is a garpike the same thing we simply call a "pike" here in Ohio?

 

My dd and I love learning new things, so this is great! Thanks everyone!

Brooke, It's much clearer now, thanks for the detailed explanation! :lol: Ya'll shudda sed that thar stuff in the fust place!

zsmomma, I went and looked at your fish, he looks pretty cool. I also looked at your van and your dh's vehicles. What do they say on the sides? THere must be a story behind that!

Thanks everyone, this is fun!

 

Deena,
We got paid to drive our vehicles with a Clorox ad on them that said "If this were a floor we could clean it" That is what gave us the money for my fish tank and why I have the senagalus and 3 needlenose gar. We know quite a bit about the gar family.
There are many many different kinds. There are the true gars and non true gars. The difference is anywhere from 3-6 feet. Here is a link on gar info http://aquaticpredators.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=332 Our Needlenoses' are 8inches, 6 inches and 4 inches right now. All will eventually hit a foot.
Also if you wanted to see the many different type of Polypterus there is here is a good link to that one also. http://aquaticpredators.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=643 If the new Bichirs ever settle down I will try to snap a few pics. of them and post them up. They range in sizes from 9 inches, 7 inches and 2 - 2 inches. We also have 2 orange pike that are absolutely awesome!! Good luck! Renee aka zsmomma

 

Renee,

WOW, you know a lot about that subject! Thanks so much for sharing!

My sister was looking at doing that same thing years and years ago. She had a VW Bug and got info. from Levi's to have them paint it. It would've been sooo cute! She went off to college for a semester, and left her car at home just for that first semester. When she got home, planning on getting that paint job and payment for it, she found our parents had sold her car (LONG story! They also sold my saxophone when I didn't take it to college MY first semester---noone ever accused them of being financial wizards!!!) :? , what a shock that was! Anyway, it would've looked neat, and as a college student she could've used the extra money! Are they still doing that kind of thing?

 

As far as I know they do. We had signed up a few years ago. A friend of ours had a Thom McCann ( I think) ad on her car and she had hers for 6 months. We had ours for a month. It was not paint for ours it was like a plastic wrap. They put it on with a heat gun and took it off the same way. For one month of driving our own vehicles all over town like normal we got paid almost $700 total. It was awesome! Instead of paying off bills which would have been the smart thing to do we bought a 125 gallon tank and some fishes. Now, a year later, we have 4 tanks in our house!! We have a few pet stores that we frequent and our favorite one has reptiles that the kids have learned a ton about from the store owner! Have a good one! Renee

Oh yea, here is the pictures of Orange Pike. When they are juveniles they are orange then they change to the black and red coloration. We have two of these guys. http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/5491/xingu1page.html

 

all of say: SEA TURTLES !!!!!!!!!! we just love turtles.


Have a box turtle that lives in my kitchen.

 

Vicky,

How many votes is that altogether for sea turtles?

 

I'll be checking out the gar site...thanks for posting it! Following his survey answer of "barracuda", my ds loves catching "billygars" here in the Mississippi. They are the most dreaded thing to catch in my book...I only began bating my own hooks in the past few years .....needless to say, hubby would be the one tossing back the gar! :lol: He's such a sweetie about it.....but he can't understand how I can assist in veterinary surgeries but get squemish with worms???!!!!!