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Fish

This Australian Bass is an example of a fish! Fish are cold-blooded animals that live under water, have backbones, have gills which allow them to breathe oxygen underwater, fins to help them swim, and scales to protect them.


Percy stops off at the pond for a quick drink of water. While sitting on her favourite drinking log looking out over the pond, up pops Bassy! Bassy is the Australian Bass fish and this is Bassy’s home. It gives Percy such a fright she nearly falls into the pond! Bassy laughs and rolls around in the water.  

‘Jump in - the water’s great!’ Bassy squeals in delight.  

‘For you maybe, but I don’t live in water. In fact, I wouldn’t last long at all!’ replies Percy. ‘Why can I survive in water, and you can’t?’ asks Bassy.  

‘You have gills which let you breathe in water. I need air for my lungs!’ says Percy.  

‘How very peculiar,’ says Bassy, who then dives deep into the pond. Percy decides it’s time to keep on moving towards home and waves farewell to Bassy who is still under the water.  
Fun Fact – Australian bass are carnivores which means they eat meat. They love shrimp, insects, worms and small fish. Australian bass are very well camouflaged – they blend in with the rocks and mud at the bottom of their freshwater habitat and are very hard to spot! 

Activities - Fish

1. Parts of a fish

2. Build Bassy a habitat

In groups or individually build a habitat for Bassy. What do fish need? Use a container, loose parts like sticks and leaves, and craft materials. 

3. Life cycle of a fish

4. Play a game of camouflage

  • Designate one person as the spotter. The spotter calls out “CAMOUFLAGE!” so everyone can hear. Once it is called, the spotter closes their eyes and counts to ten. The spotter cannot move. 
  • Everyone else has ten seconds to find a hiding place where they can see the spotter but cannot be seen by the spotter. 
  • Once the spotter has finished counting, they open their eyes and make a sign with their hands (peace sign, thumbs up, thumbs down, etc.). The spotter must hold up their sign for 30 seconds and call out people they can see in their hiding spots. The spotter is still unable to move. 
  • Once the 30 seconds are up, the spotter calls out “SHOW YOURSELVES” to those who haven’t yet been spotted. The first to show the correct hand sign then becomes the spotter.  
Banner Image: Museums Victoria’s Catching the Eye (CC BY-NC 2.0)