Raccoon Butterfly fish

Some more tropical reef fishes to look at, we have a load of these, you may have noticed them as the colourful ones. That's not a shot at our local species, because fish like the cuckoo wrasse (who will get a blog at some point) is a colourful fish, but for the most part, and compared to tropical reef fish, the cold water species look drab. (I can say this, because they're my favourite).

The Raccoon Butterfly fish (Chaetodon lunula) is in my opinion the best of our butterfly fish. Only because it's named after a Raccoon. I'm sure you can spot why it's named after a raccoon (those black patches around its eyes). It's a really neat looking butterfly fish.

They like to eat soft corals and anemones; much to our dismay. The anemones might be able to avoid predation if they have Clownfish living in them protecting them, otherwise they're a tasty treat for a butterfly fish. Soft corals can look awesome, a really awesome looking soft coral called Xenia would be eye candy for our tanks. Best way I can describe them would be they look like lots of feathery hands grasping at nothing. Unfortunately we can't share these soft corals with you because within minutes of putting them in the butterfly fish (and I'm looking at you raccoon butterfly fish) will have demolished it and be swimming around bellies full looking mightily proud of themselves. Ok, maybe I just imagine that as fish don't mock us, I don't think.

Not the information you were looking for? Try fishbase.org

Anthias

Going back onto our tropical fish now, because there are a few to get through, up next is this little fella...

I'm sorry, I mean lady. This is a female anthias. And below is the male. 

This is the sort of picture that would make fish enthusiasts or even just someone looking for a nice fish picture weep. It also makes me question my decision to take photos of the animals with my phone and not ask for a hot shot photographer. But nah, it's charming isn't it? I like to think so. Enough about my life. Let's talk about the fish.

I've been introduced to these fish as "anthias" and I know them by their binomial name Pseudanthias squamipinnis, other people know these fish as "Sea Goldie". But enough about their life. Let's talk about the fish.

This species shows sexual dimorphism, that means you can look at these fish and tell which ones a male anthias and which is a female anthias. There are a lot of marine animals where just having a quick look won't do, some you have to chop open to see, but these guys have made it easier for us.

The females are orange and a little smaller, they have a neon-punk style violet streak below their eye. My photo will never do it justice, a photo from wikipedia will though:

The males are a bit bigger, about one and a half times as big as the females, this is my casual observation- it's not science. The males are a wicked fuchsia colour, and have an elongated ray on their dorsal fin. You can sort of make it out in my photo. Though I know it's there so I can see it. I will find you a better one. Wikipedia once again.

Males also have fancy tail fins. It's hard to explain, but they're  more pointy and elegant than the females.

My favourite thing about these fish are that they are sequential hermaphrodites. This is why animals and nature are just mind blowingly-amazingly-supercalifragiciously awesome! Anthias are protogynous hermaphrodites, this means all anthias are born female but some have the ability to change their sex into male. Lots of fish live in harems (anime nerds may be familiar with a harem), a harem is a group consisting of many females to one male. You'll have about 5-10 female anthias all sharing the one male anthias. If that male dies, and they're male-less, one of the females in the group will change their sex and become the male to the harem, and help produce more babies. There are other types of sequential hermaphrodites, and there is a very popular fish that I'm not going to give away just yet... but when I talk about them, you will find out. *wink*

Not the information you were looking for? Try FishBase.org

Greater Pipefish

The second most asked question I get as an aquarist after "toilet?" is "Do you have any seahorses?" People LOVE seahorses. I know I break their heart when I tell them "No, but...

...we do have Pipefish, which are related to seahorses" (If I wanted to show off I would call them Syngnathus acus, but I don't, because I don't speak Latin well).

Some will fain interest at the animals related to seahorses, others won't look me in the eye, I've been spat at! and children begin to cry... ok, maybe not that drastic. Those that are still interested in these creatures are first to point out that their heads and snouts are a bit like a seahorse! They use these snouts to "vacuum" in their food, they will eat small crustaceans like mysis shrimp- hoovering them up. It's pretty neat to watch, there's a bit of food in front of their face, *vrooom*, now it's gone quick as a flash.

So why is the homelier pipefish awesome? I like these guys because they are gluttons.Actually, that's a bit harsh, we feed them three times a day not because they're greedy, but because they don't actually have stomachs. Yeah, seahorses don't have stomachs either. Food goes in and passes out fairly quickly, so they need a constant supply of food for nourishment.

Feeding time is always fun, there are a lot more in the tank then you would think first glance. They're incredible at camouflaging and finding a nook or cranny to hide in. Then when food is there, they all come out of hiding and you'll see about 19.

Not the information you were looking for? Try MarLIN.ac.uk

Mantis Shrimp

One of the best parts of my job is discovering animals I didn't know we had... take for example this fella...

The Mantis Shrimp! He is only about 5cm at the moment these can grow to 30cm! I do not know which species this one is, there are over 400 species of mantis shrimp- perhaps if I get a minute I can look through 400 descriptions and tell you but today isn't that day. 

So how could I not know about this little awesome guy? Easy; shrimps, urchins, crabs, mantis shrimps and all sorts come in on live rock. In the back we have quarantine tanks with lots of corals and lots of live rock, (the rocks aren't alive, it's the marine life that lives inside these rocks that give to its name). Just like in the oceans there are loads of animals yet to be discovered, the same can be said for our tanks! 

I know that hobbyists aren't so enthused if they see one of these little guys scuttling along in their tanks because they can be pests- eating the corals, burrowing through them and destroying them, eating the fish... maybe if we hadn't have managed to catch and isolate him I wouldn't be so enthused either.

The Mantis shrimp like many other species of the world is ill named, because it isn't a shrimp. Why isn't it a shrimp? Shrimps are in the order decapoda and mantis shrimps are in the order stomatopoda. Shrimps have 10 legs, mantis shrimps have 6 legs and a load of fin like appendages known as pleopods (shrimps have those too) and like a shrimp the mantis shrimp is a crustacean. But yeah, it's not a shrimp.

Let's have some awesome facts:

Mantis shrimps are either "smashers" or "spearers" depending on their "raptorial appendage" otherwise known as claws. This raptorial appendage is why they're called a "mantis" shrimp, because it's very similar to the grasping front legs of a preying mantis. 

The "smashers" claws have a hardened calcified "club" on the outer edge of their raptorial appendage which they can use to hammer, club or smash through their prey! Prey with hard-bodies like crabs.

The "spearers" have a row of spines along the outer edge of their raptorial appendage, these sharp spines can slash, stab and disembowel their prey. Prey with soft bodies like fish and shrimp.

I would go take a closer look at our mantis shrimp for science to see if hes a smasher or a spearer, but I've heard a smashers claw can go through glass! So it would have no trouble going through my finger. Ok, he might only be 5cm but I don't want to risk it. 

Pajama Cardinalfish

I thought I best do another fish. Fish are so tricky to get a photo of though, except these guys...

The Pajama Cardinalfish, known to super enthusiasts as Sphaeramia nematoptera. I have three main reasons why I dig these fish.

Reason One- The common name. "Pajama", it's a great word and enjoyable to say.

Reason Two- Their body. It looks like someones chopped up three different fish and stuck a head, a body, and a tail from the three different fish together.

Reason Three- They stay still when I want to take a photo.

You'll notice there are quite a few of these in our Coral Crest tank, they're social fishes even if they do look miserable.

These are a staple to most aquariums, I usually spot about 20 when I'm visiting another aquarium. They're a relatively hardy tropical fish species, pretty peaceful, like to be in groups, stay still and can be seen!

I can think of another reason why I dig these fish, the males incubate the eggs in their mouths. Neat!

Not the information you were looking for? Try Fishbase.org

Snakelocks Anemone

Lets take a look at another animal without a face today (though they do have mouths, in the middle hidden beneath those tentacles which they push food towards, no eyes though)

The snakelocks anemone or Anemonia viridis in the Latin. I like how the genus name gives away that it's an anemone. Not many species are so considerate.

You can think of anemones as upside down jellyfish. That's what I do. Upsidedown stuck on jellyfish. They stick themselves down to a hard surface using their suction cup like oral discs, like these guys have chosen the rock. They can move, they can shuffle about, and even jump! Now my favourite anemone fact has to do with them shuffling. So an anemone, shuffles on some rock and oops, it's left a part of itself behind that's still stuck, it shuffles on leaving that little bit of tissue. This little bit of tissue can grow into a new anemone! AMAZING! This is called pedal laceration and is a form of asexual reproduction.

So, like Jellyfish these guys can sting. They have stinging cells called nematocysts. (More about these when I talk about some other anemones we have). Now, typically we shouldn't worry about British Anemones and their sting, but if you see these ones on the beach I wouldn't recommend touching them. Look out for flowy tentacles, other anemones have a body wall which they can contract their tentacles into and end up looking like a blob. These don't contract, it's all just tentacles. I say don't touch because from personal experience these can leave you with a nasty rash. It's a bit like being stung by nettles, it's not going to kill you but it's not a pleasant experience either, best to just avoid it if you can.

Not the information you were looking for? Try MarLIN.ac.uk

Thornback Ray

This one is for all you shark lovers out there...

"That's a ray!?!" Yeah, don't panic, I've not gone mad. This is a Thornback Ray (Raja clavata- if I ever needed a stage name, this latin name would be the name for me)
It may not be the shark you're thinking of but it is an Elasmobranch, and members of the Elasmobranch subclass include sharks, rays and skates. They are very closely related and I like to think of rays as flattened sharks. Instead of a bones these have a cartilaginous skeleton. Feel your ears at the top, that's the same sort of stuff. It's all bendy and flexible (don't go mad now, no need to hurt yourself). Having bendy cartilage instead of rigid bone allows these animals to be more flexible in water and allow them to make swift turns and do graceful loop de loops.

You often find these Rays eggcases (or Mermaids Purses) washed up on the strandline on our beaches. Identifying the eggcase to a species will tell you what species are living and breeding in those waters.

The Sharks Trust run a Great Eggcase Hunt, if you find an eggcase then send in your results. Sharks and Rays numbers have been declining, this information helps identify areas of potential nursing grounds and gives a better understanding of the abundance and distribution of certain species.  Click here to find out more about the Great Eggcase Hunt and how to get involved

I've had to say "goodbye" to two lots of Thornback Rays in my few years at the aquarium. That's because this species can grow to 140cm (4 feet 7 inches), and the tank we keep them in is not big enough to accommodate that size. We have good contacts with other aquariums who are more than happy to take them off our hands and display these beautiful creatures in their much larger tanks. In return we get baby rays captive bred from other aquariums that we grow on and put on display as juveniles for a few years until they outgrow us and need to move on. It's a sharing and caring cycle.

The picture is a young Thornback Ray we are currently beefing up in our tanks off display. At the moment they are a bit too small to go into our larger tanks, and a bit too big to go into any of our smaller tanks. They are feeding well and have grown well these past few months too, so I'm confident it won't be too long until they're big enough to compete with food with the likes of the dogfish and massive plaice that already occupy their new home.. Look out for them in this Aquarium soon!

Not the information you were looking for? Try MarLIN.ac.uk