Arctic Char

cold water · fish · arctic explorer · super tough

World's northernmost fish. Arctic char holds the record for living farther north than any other freshwater fish, thriving in freezing alpine lakes and arctic waters where most fish can't survive.

Related to salmon. Arctic char belongs to the salmon family, which means it shares many traits with salmon, trout, and char, including being really good swimmers.

Some travel two homes. While most Arctic char stay in lakes their whole lives, some populations are anadromous, meaning they're born in freshwater but swim out to the ocean to grow up, then return home to have babies.

Built for ice. These fish have special adaptations that let them live in water so cold it would shock other fish, including a kind of antifreeze in their blood that keeps them moving in near-freezing conditions.

Changes color seasonally. Arctic char shift their colors with the seasons and can look different depending on where they live, ranging from silver to bright red and orange during spawning time.