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Fishphysiologyskinandscales

Acomprehensiveguidetofish
AquariumscienceSkinandScales
Introduction
Thescalesofafisharelikesmalltransparentpiecesofbonewhichprotectthefish
fromminorcutsandscratchesandtoreducedragasthefishswims.Scalesvaryin
sizefromtheverytinytolargebonyscutesandthereareseveraltypesofscale
foundondifferentfamiliesoffishes.
Typesofscales

Cycloidscales

Ganoidscales

Bonyscutes

CtenoidscalesandCycloidscalesareessentiallycycloidscaleswithteethat
theirposterioredges.Thepurposeoftheteethistoreducedragwhenthefishis
swimming.Thescaleshavetwomainareas,thesurfacewhichisbonywhichisa
frameworkfilledwithcalciumsaltsandadeeperfibrouslayercomposedmainlyof
cologen.Thescalesoverlapeachotherlikerooftiles.Asfishwithcycloidorctenoid
scalesgrowtheirscalesgrowwiththem.
Ganoidscalesareanonoverlappingorpartiallyoverlappingscale,often
rhomboidalinshape,withthickouterganoinelayer(enamellikesubstance).
Placoidscalesaretoughscalesthatcovertheskinofelasmobranchs(sharksand
rays).
http://www.fishtanksandponds.co.uk/aquariumscience/skinscales.html

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Bonyscutesarelesscommon,typeofscaleisthescute,whichisashieldlike
bonyplate,oramodified,thickenedscalewhichcanberidgedorspined.
Ctenoidandcycloidscalesarefoundonthemajorityoflivingbonyfishtoday.
Ganoidscalesarefoundonlyonfishwhicharegenerallyregardedasbeingmore
primitivesturgeons,paddlefishes,gars,bowfin,andbichirs.Placoidscalesareonly
foundonsharksandrays.
Anatomyofskinandscales

Thescalesgrowinthedermis,theinnerlayeroftheskin,andarecoveredbyafine
epidermisorouterskinlayer.Eachscalefitsintoitsownlittlepocketofepidermis.
Theouterskin(epidermis)containsmucusglandswhichsecretethemucuswhich
givesfishtheirslipperyfeeling.Themucushasmanypropertiesincludingbeing
antifungal,antibacterialandbecauseofthisitisabletoprotectthefishfrom
infection.Duetoitsslipperynatureitalsomakesitmoredifficultforparasitesto
getagriponthefish.Aswellasprotectingthefish'shealththemucuscutsdown
ondragandmakesswimmingmoreefficient.Someprimitivefishlikehagfishare
abletoproducevastquantitiesofmucuswhichisusedtodeterpredators.
Thescalesgrowwiththefish,theygrowfasterinsummerwhenthereisagreater
abundanceoffoodandwarmerwaterandslowerinwinterwhenthefisharemore
torpid.Thischanginggrowthrateleavesvisibleringsonthescaleandsowhen
viewedunderamagnifyinglenstheageofthefishcanbeestimated.
Ifascaleislostduetoatraumaofsomekinditwillregrowaslongasthebaseof
thescaledeepinthedermisremainsintact.Somespecialisedscalesiflostmaybe
replacedwithordinaryscales.
Arecentdiscoveryfoundthattheshineoriridescenceoffishscalesiscausedbyso
calledphotoniccrystalsmadeofguanineintheskinbeneaththem,thishadlong
beenacceptedbutnooneknewquitehowthisworked.
Fishkeeping

Theepidermislayercoveringthescalesisextremelythinandcouldeasilybe
damagedbypoorhandling,inahealthyfishtheepidermiswillquicklyregenerate
andthefishwon'tbeanyworseforit,howeverifthefishisundersomestressi.e.
conditionsintheaquariumarelessthanperfectwithhighnitratesforexampleorif
thefishisinpoorconditionduetobeingrecentlyimportedorpurchasedthenit
couldeasilyallowinfectiontogainafootholdduetothelossoftheprotective
mucussuchaninfectionwillpreventhealingoftheepidermisandactasareservoir
fortheinfectiontomultiplyfreely.Itisthereforeveryimportanttotakegreatcare
whenhandlingfishinordertoavoiddamageandtotreatanysignofinfectionas
soonasitisnoticed.
Glossary
Scutes:Scutesaresimilartoscalesandservethesamefunction.Unlikethescales
oflizardsandsnakes,whichareformedfromtheepidermis,scutesareformedin
thelowervascularlayeroftheskinandtheepidermalelementisonlythetop
surface.Forminginthelivingdermis,thescutesproduceahornyouterlayerthatis
superficiallysimilartothatofscales.
Dermis:alayerofskinbetweentheepidermis(withwhichitmakesupthecutis)
andsubcutaneoustissues
Epidermis:iscomposedoftheoutermostlayersofcellsintheskin.
Guanine:nucleotidebindingproteinsareglycoproteinsanchoredonthe
cytoplasmiccellmembrane.Theyaremediatorsformanycellularprocesses
References
uwlax.eduCtenoidscales
AustralianMuseumcycloidandctenoidscales.
WikipediaFishscales
RSCadvancingthechemicalsciences