Rainbow Trout: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Fish and Sharks · day 1 of 7

Five facts

1. A broad reddish stripe runs along its sides, from the gills right to the tail. It glows brightest on males in the breeding season.
2. Steelhead are rainbow trout that travel out to sea, then come home to the stream where they hatched. Many can repeat the trip several times.
3. To make a nest, the female rolls onto her side and flaps her tail hard, sweeping out a hollow in the gravel of the riverbed.
4. Young trout are nicknamed fingerlings, because they are roughly as long as a human finger.
5. Besides insects, it hunts crayfish, shrimp and small fish up to a third of its own length.

The quiz

1. Where is the rainbow trout's reddish stripe?

• Along its side, from gills to tail (correct)
• In a ring around each eye
• Only on its tail fin
• Across the top of its head

The stripe runs along its side from the gills to the tail.

2. What can a steelhead do that most Pacific salmon cannot?

• Live its whole life in one small pond
• Glow in the dark
• Travel to sea and back to breed several times (correct)
• Breathe air on land for days

Unlike their Pacific salmon cousins, steelhead can make several breeding trips between river and sea.

3. How does a female rainbow trout make her nest?

• She weaves it from water plants
• She rolls on her side and beats her tail in the gravel (correct)
• She blows a raft of bubbles at the surface
• She moves into an empty shell

She turns on her side and beats her tail to clear a hollow in the gravel.

4. Why are young rainbow trout called fingerlings?

• They have five fins like fingers
• They nibble at swimmers' fingers
• They hide in finger-shaped holes
• They are about the size of a human finger (correct)

Young trout are roughly as long as a human finger.

5. How big can the small fish that a rainbow trout eats be?

• Twice its own length
• Up to a third of its own length (correct)
• Exactly its own length
• Three times its own length

It eats small fish up to one-third of its own length.

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