Aquas II

Named Aquas II by Humans, is a water world, with an avarage temprature of almost freezing on the surface, and 100 C below 0 after 40 feet deep. This creates a large layer of ice around the planet under the water(20 feet below the surface is where the ice is closest to the surface). This layer reaches 50 feet in it's thickest areas. Under the ice layer is liquid water, that is kept warm by the planets Natural heat, emitted from volcanos, and faults. The ice layer has many gaps, that allow creature to flow from one layer to another.

Plant Life
Under the ice layer, many Aquas plants use the planets heat to produce their food with thermalsyntisis. The iternal warmth of the planet means that there is little need for compition. There are also speices of "underworld" plants the float with currents and can grow to enormous sizes. They may sometimes attach together to create colonies. (these colonies are good for producing heat.t

However, because of the thick clouds in the planet's atmousphere, plants that use photosynthisis cannot survive, and the same apply's for the plants under the ice layer, thanks to the near freezing temperatures. Only anoght light passes through the clouds to be capable of barly seeing. There are however plantlike spieces that found ways of using ice to there advantage ON the icelayer. These plants anchor them selfs to the ice, to protect agienst strong currents. They brake branch out thin vines that are desined to grasp passing creatures that may brush on the invisible vines. Thanks to the abcence of light there vines can't be seen, and many animals sence water motion, however the vines of many of these plants flow with the water, and are invisible to these poor animals. When an animal is caught, the vine pulls it down, and a reflex cause near by vines to grasp around it, and crush it. The vines then extend needle like limbs the puncture the surface, and absorbe nutrients. Thanks to a reflex, only some vines grab the prey, while others remain in the water waiting for a victim.

Animals
There are many animals the live in the seas of Aquas II. Hydranions is the dominate spieces. It is semi-sentient, and is capable of roamming both layers of the world. However there are animals fixed to one layer of the strange world.

(below are animals with high populations.)

The outer layer of the world, the only layer the light touches, is suprisingly, the coldest, and therefore, many animals in this area have warm fluids. (or warm "blooded") One group of animals on the planet are the Mentriarks. There are many spieces that fall under this family. The Mentriarks are bulky large animals with sharp fangs, and a large mouth. They keep them selfs suspended in the water, with there internal water, that is heated by it's organs. This animal needs to eat alot, to sustain the it's heat producing organs. Otherwise it'd become heavier, as the water becomes dense, and begin to sink. It has large fin like limbs, and some speices have a form of propulsion. These are carniverous, and generaly eat herbavours, such as Shalireen.

Shalireen are plant eatting creatures, that are large in number, and travel in packs. They generaly eat the floating plants of the "Underworld" but occasionaly eat the carnivorous plants of the "Cold World". They've evolved to see the infrared emmited from the vines, and know what areas to strike, as opposed to only the limited sonar of most of the aquatic creatures.