What are BROOK STICKLEBACKS?
Brook Sticklebacks are small, ca. 5 cm (2 in), olive green sticklebacks of the family Gastereostidae possessing numerous light spots along their sides. Their bodies are scale less with minute bony plates with moderately slender caudal peduncles and with deep bodies laterally compressed. They are abundant in cool, clear freshwaters where they live in near-shore areas in lakes, rivers and ponds in the midwest, east and southeast of North America. Brook Sticklebacks eat insect larvae, snails, oligochaetes and algae. (See: Fishbase)

EARLY LIFE HISTORY of BROOK STICKLEBACKS:
Spawning Season of Adult BROOK STICKLEBACK: Spring to summer, late April to July during temperatures of 15° to 19°.
Where BROOK STICKLEBACK Eggs are Found: Males construct nests of aquatic plants, grass and/or algae in shallow waters of streams, ponds and warm, shallow bays of large lakes. These fibers are held together with a secretion from their kidneys. Females enter the oval or round nests which are 2 to 5 cm in diameter and deposit ca. 250 eggs. Males fertilize the eggs and care for them by fanning and defending them from predators.
Characteristics of Eggs: Demersal, adhesive, colorless, light yellow, diameter eggs 1.0 to 1.3 mm.
Size of Babies at Hatching: 4.5 to 6 mm at 8 to 10 days of incubation.
Movements of BROOK STICKLEBACK Babies after hatching: Baby BROOK STICKLEBACKS hatch in nests, move out and swim around in lakes and streams in shallow water singly and/or in small numbers, not in schools.