Bazaar

This Weird Fish Is An Architect Of Love

August 21, 2025

Biologist and underwater photographer Joseph Ricketts captured charming footage of the river chub, a small freshwater fish with big mating habits. When temperatures reach 65 degrees in spring, male river chubs begin stacking rocks into piles. The building efforts Ricketts documented in Western North Carolina are designed to protect and oxygenate fish eggs laid in their natural habitat. While river chubs aren’t rare, this remarkable behavior requires just the right weather conditions to witness.