The fish which change from female to male从雌性变成雄性的鱼

There is a fish called the blackspot angelfish1，which can change from female to male. No， it cannotdo it by simply wishing to become male. The changehappens for a reason.

The angelfish live in groups. And each group hasone male fish， which is blue in colour， and fourfemale fish， which are yellow in colour.

The male angelfish is the strongest and largestmember of the group. He is the one who protects2and looks after the females and he is like their“security guard3”. When the male dies， the groupneeds a “security guard”. This is when the largestfemale fish in the group begins to change its look.

She begins to grow larger in size. After a week，she starts changing colour， from yellow to blue.Slowly， she begins behaving4 like a male. Two weekslater， black stripes5 on her body. This shows that thechange is done. She is now 100% male！

Another interesting fact about angelfish is thatthey have a job in the fish world. Most of them are“cleaners6”for other fish.

The angelfish are one kind of fish with the brightest color in the sea. You canalso see them at home. People like to keep them because of the interesting patterns7on them. These patterns help them to hide from danger. Often the young ones havedifferent colors from the grown-ups.

At night， when these fish become inactive8， their colors may change. They canbe found in the freshwaters9 of South America， in warm seas and coral reefs10.They can grow up to more than 40 cm. They usually swim by themselves or in pairs.

有一种叫做黑斑神仙鱼的鱼，它可以从雌性变成雄性。不，它不能仅仅通过许愿就能变成雄性。这种变化的发生有因可溯。

神仙鱼是群居的。每一群有一条蓝色的雄鱼和四条黄色的雌鱼。

雄性神仙鱼是群体中最强壮、个头最大的成员。它负责保护和照顾雌性，就像它们的“保安”。当雄性死亡时，鱼群需要一个“保安”。这时鱼群中最大的那条雌鱼开始改变自己的样子。

它的体型开始变大。一周后，它开始变色，从黄色变成蓝色。慢慢地，它开始表现得像一只雄性。两周后，它身上出现了黑色条纹。这表明（性别）更改已经完成。它现在是100%的雄性了！关于神仙鱼的另一个有趣的事实是，它们在鱼类世界里有一份“工作”。它们中的大多数是其他鱼类的“清洁工”。

神仙鱼是海洋里颜色最鲜艳的一种鱼。你也可以在家里观赏它们。人们喜欢养它们，因为它们身上那些有趣的花纹。这些花纹能帮助它们躲避危险。通常来说，幼鱼的颜色与成年的鱼不同。

晚上，当这些鱼变得不活跃时，它们的颜色可能会改变。人们可以在南美洲的淡水水域、温暖的海洋和珊瑚礁中找到它们。它们可以长到40 多厘米，通常单独或成对地游动。

（英语原文选自：pitara.com）

▏Notes

1. angelfish 扁鲨；神仙鱼；一种观赏用热带鱼

2. protect 保护；防护

3. security guard 保安人员

4. behave 行为；表现

5. stripe 条纹

6. cleaner 清洁工人

7. pattern 图案；花样

8. inactive 不活动的；不活跃的

9. freshwater 淡水

10. coral reef 珊瑚礁