Squids live exclusively in saline waters – from warm tropics to arctic regions. In the seas and oceans, they have mastered all the niches: some species inhabit the water column at a depth of 100-500 m, others prefer to stay near the surface, others meet exclusively at great depths (up to 1500 m) and never see the sun. Deep-sea squids are more often solitary, but small species that live near the surface live in flocks.
All kinds of squid are very mobile and spend their whole lives in swimming, they do not have permanent habitats. Moreover, many species perform daily vertical migrations, rising to the surface of the water at night, as well as annual spawning migrations. In the latter case, for three months of travel, squid travel over more than 3000 km, that is, on average they swim 30 km per day! It is not surprising that their migrations take place at cruising speed.
Especially mobile flying squid, many of their species can reach speeds of up to 70 km / h! The smallest species, on the contrary, are planktonic, instead of active swimming they drift along the current. This drift provides another amazing ability of these animals – neutral buoyancy. In the body of plankton squid there is a bubble filled with ammonium chloride (molasses). This fluid is lighter than water, so mollusks, even being still, do not sink.
