Skip to main content

Blue parrotfish

By

Parrotfish are named for their brilliant colors and their beaks, formed by many teeth fused together in a mosaic. Once classified in their own family, the 90 or so species are now considered highly specialized wrasses. They are a vital component of the ecology of coral reefs, pulverizing coral to extract algae and producing vast amounts of sand. Of the fourteen species found off North America, the Blue parrotfish, found widely in the Caribbean, is one of the most recognizable, adult males being solidly blue. Almost all parrotfish begin life as females.

Read More

Lookdown fish

By

Reaching a length of a foot-and-a half and weighing less than five pounds, this is one of the smaller members of the Jack family, which includes such well-known game fishes as the Amberjack, as well as the Yellowtail featured in Sushi bars. Despite its small size, it is considered delicious, like its relative the Pompano. It is found in large schools in the Tropical Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico and is common along the Texas coast. The peculiar head structure which gives it its name, has made it popular as a public aquarium animal for many years.

Read More

French angelfish

By

Easily growing over a foot in length, this is one of the most popular fishes with divers in the Bahamas, Florida, and other places in the Tropical Atlantic. It is a typical sight in Texas’ Flower Garden Banks sanctuary. While adults are black with golden edging to their scales, juveniles have a pattern of broad yellow bands, which serve a “Barber’s Pole” purpose, since young French angels are “cleaners” of much larger fishes that do not harm them. Adults eat mostly sponges. This has been a favorite aquarium exhibit for more than a century.

Read More

Queen angelfish

By

One of the first salt water tropical fishes to be kept in aquariums, this beautiful fish was exhibited live by P.T. Barnum (of circus fame) at his American Museum in New York in the 1860s and has remained a popular species in public aquariums ever since. In the 1930s, the New York Aquarium sent specimens all the way by ship to East London, in South Africa, in exchange for turkeyfish. In parts of its extensive range in the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Tropical Western Atlantic, it is a food fish. Its wild diet is almost exclusively sponges.

Read More

Rooster hogfish

By

Though dwarfed by its six-foot long, 300-pound Pacific relative, the Napoleon wrasse, at nearly three feet, and over 20 pounds, the hogfish is the largest wrasse in the Caribbean. Like the Napoleon Wrasse, it is threatened by overfishing. Considered delicious, it is a prime target for spear fisherman. It is classified as Vulnerable to Extinction over its range from Bermuda to Brazil. It remains abundant in some habitats, such as the Florida Keys. Its powerful jaws and teeth equip it to consume crabs, sea urchins and mollusks.

Read More

Goliath grouper

By

The Goliath grouper, also referred to as a Jewfish or Giant seabass, is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean, through the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea and into South America. It is also found off the west coast of Africa and from the Baja peninsula through Central America. It occurs in shallow, inshore waters as an adult and can be found as a juvenile in mangroves and brackish estuaries. It is territorial in nature and can be seen displaying an open mouth and quivering when approached by unwanted intruders. The Goliath grouper can also produce a rumbling sound by contracting the muscles of its airbladder. It is the largest of the Sea basses and can weigh more than 800 pounds. It is an important commercial species, especially in the sport fishing industry. It is protected by law in US waters, and fishing for this species is prohibited.

Read More

Banded archerfish

By

By pressing its tongue against a bony groove in the roof of its mouth, an archerfish can shoot a jet of water as far as ten feet to knock down the insects it eats. Possessing remarkable eyesight, they can also compensate for defraction, so they have excellent aim. They are typical inhabitants of mangrove swamps and river mouths in Southeast Asia and other parts of the Western Pacific. This species tolerates a wide range of salinities, including freshwater.

Read More

Asian arowana

By

Described to science in 1844, it was thought there was only a single species of Asian arowana until 2003, when a team of three ichthyologists determined that there were actually four species. These had previously been considered color phases (like black leopards or jaguars, or white tigers). This classification is controversial. All populations of the Asian arowana are considered endangered, primarily due to habitat destruction. In the past, they were considered threatened by the commercial aquarium trade, but farm-raised specimens, sold micro-chipped, with “birth certificates” now supply the demand for these “Dragon Fishes”, which, in some Asian traditions, are considered to bring luck to businesses where they are kept.

Read More

Cardinal tetra

By

This popular aquarium fish was unknown to science until 1956, when ichthyologists at the Smithsonian Institution and Stanford University published descriptions a day apart. It took a meeting of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature to determine the Smithsonian had published first. Found only in the Rio Negro and Orinoco Rivers, they are provided both through ecologically sustainable collecting in Brazil and fish farms in Asia and Europe.

Read More

Electric eel

By

Not related to saltwater or migratory eels, this South American fish has an elegantly minimal method of moving through water. This is mostly achieved by a parabolic wave generated through the long ventral fin. The tiny pectoral fins may steer. Most of the body is taken up by electricity generating tissue. An adult may produce a 500-watt charge. The digestive and reproductive organs are confined to a small area just behind the head. Exhibited at New York’s Central Park Zoo more than a century ago, it has long been a popular aquarium display.

Read More