It should be no surprise that freshwater crayfish and lobsters are related: crayfish look like miniature models of their salt-water cousins, complete with claws that can pack quite a pinch. Crayfish eat aquatic plants, worms, and bits of decaying matter in the water. When they’re threatened, they rear up with their claws held high, then flick their tails to propel themselves backward to take cover under a log or rock. Catfish are named for the “barbels” around their mouths, which resemble a cat’s whiskers. Most catfish are bottom-feeders that prowl the bottoms of ponds and lakes and use their feelers to search out food and find their way in dark, deep water. The bull- head, one kind of catfish that lives in North America, has a varied diet that includes insects (dead or alive), other fish, crayfish, and fruits or grains that drop into the water.
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