#Aquatic Life

[missedmilemarkers]

[fishenjoyer1]

Fish of the Day

Today's fish of the day is the California sheephead!

The California sheephead, as some of you who have been here since the early days will know, happens to be the first ever fish I wrote about for fish of the day back in January 2022! Known by the scientific name Bodianus pulcher, (formerly Semicossyphus), this fish is a species of wrasse in the Pacific. Found along the coast of California and Mexico, stretching from Monterey Bay California to the Gulf of California. They live along the kelp forests common in this area. Although, there are populations living along rocky reefs and sandy seabed areas. The fish are highly territorial over their home, and only settle in a very small refuge area, which they protect. These areas and the cycle of migration with the California sheephead are shaped almost entirely by light levels, as they travel between a refuge area and a foraging area throughout the day, and then when spawning these fish travel to a breeding area. This is why some issues have arisen due to overspilling light pollution by humans.

Their diet consists primarily of sea urchins, although they also prey on crustaceans, mollusks, and other fish. Their role in the ecosystem of kelp forests can not be understated, which is why the overfishing of them by humans is such a problem. This is because the overabundance of urchin in an area can decimate entire kelp forests at a rate of 30 feet a month in herds. Their diet of urchins allows these fish to get as large as 3 ft in length. Despite their large size, these fish are regularly predated on, primarily by sharks in the area. The California sheephead can warn other fish in the area of their plight however, damage released chemical cues come forth once the skin is ruptured, informing other fish in the area. These chemical cues are not always perfect however, as fish infested with parasites reduces reliability of these cues.

California sheephead, as like many wrasse, are born female and can morph into functional males throughout their lifespan, called Protogynous sex change. This change is moderated by a steroid hormone, and is undertaken by the largest and best fed individuals in an area. Sheephead are hermic spawners, and males have a group of females of which they protect and breed with. When the male for a group of females passes away, the largest female will morph into a male form and take the role. This can take anywhere between 2 weeks or several months. The mating season for these fish is between June and September, and the male will lead all his females in a circular pattern, releasing eggs and sperm. Females during this time can release as many as 130,000 to 375,000 eggs in a day, which will hatch into planktonic larvae. They will continue life as larvae for  34 to 78 days, before settling in a shallow reef and growing as normal. By the time they reach an age of 4 and a size of 10 inches, the fish are ready to spawn, although this is variable between populations. These fish can live upwards for 20 years in the wild, and as long as 50 in captivity, living through tens of breeding seasons, and producing hundreds of children.

That's the California sheephead everyone! Have a wonderful day

[icecreamwithjackdaniels]

John William Lewin (1770–1819), "Fish Catch and Dawes Point, Sydney Harbour", ca. 1814

[captainsamta]

Off topic, but have some fishes for now

[strawlessandbraless]

Rhizophysa filiformis // No common name

Rhizophysidae is a family of siphonophores in the suborder Cystonectae. Look at them go 💚🩵💜

Love to sea it 🌊

[battfishe]

I see a lot of talk about common species like sharks and whatnot when it comes to marine life which is cool and good but you know what I don’t see people talking about? the batfish

this is a polka dot batfish. look at his cute legs and sweet little face. absolutely incredible. such a revolutionary creature. I fucking love batfish and you should too

[neorice]

Neorice's Ocean

[foxsnails]

Betta fish collage!

[see-anemone]

some postage stamps i've collected over the years featuring fishies x

[aquaticplushies]

Plush Nautilus made by ??? !!

[missedmilemarkers]

[kirbyfigure]

*ੈ✩‧₊˚🪼🫧🐚𓇼*ੈ✩‧₊˚ @hibicu

[dailycephalopods]

Daily Cephalopod #35

[fishenjoyer1]

Fish of the Day

Today's fish of the day is the Alabama Cavefish!

The Alabama Cavefish, scientific name Speoplatyrhinus poulsoni, is known for being one of the rarest troglobitic fish species in North America. Discovered in 1967, by the time the alabama cavefish was scientifically described in 1974, there were only about 100 fish left. On any visit to the cave, only about 10 fish have ever been seen, but they are consistently different fish, so the estimated number is a little under 100, making them critically endangered. This also makes them a possibility for the rarest cavefish in North America!

Despite the large waterways connecting caves in Key Cave National park to several other cave systems, the Alabama cavefish has restricted itself to only one cave for reasons we don't understand. A search of over 120 caves in the surrounding area revealed no populations or signs of populations. With a range consisting only of Key cave in Lauderdale county, Alabama; these fish are constantly faced by the threat of extinction, and most of their worries are based on the limited home range, and waters entering the cave. Any water with chemicals, especially fertilizers and other agricultural runoff are a large concern. That along with competition from more aggressive cavefish, and predation from nearby crawfish. Due to their living situation and delicate population, much is unknown about these fish. But, let us go over what we do know!

The diet of the Alabama cavefish consists mostly of invertebrates found in the caves: copepods, isopods, smaller cavefish, spiders, beetles, and anything else it can find that will fit in its mouth. They grow up to a size of 2-3 inches in length. They have no eyes or pigment, and hunt solely based off of sensory protrusions that dot the head and sides, a trait evolved to handle the almost complete darkness. These fish have no breeding season, and instead breed based off of the environmental signal: when the caves flood in the winter and spring. Insufficient flooding can lead to years where no breeding or spawning occurs, and when it does females carry few eggs, and even fewer eggs hatch. Their lifespans, based off of the lifespan of Northern cavefish, are an estimated 5-10 years.

[strawlessandbraless]

Skeleton Panda Sea Tunicate Appreciation Post!!! 💀 🐼 🌊

Clavelina ossipandae, the skeleton panda sea tunicate is a species of colonial ascidian, also known as sea tunicates, a group of sessile, marine filter-feeding invertebrates. Just some funky little guys!

First discovered near Kume Island in Japan by local divers, pictures of the animal attracted media attention in 2017. But they weren't given their formal taxonomic description until 2024

Love to sea it 🌊

[battfishe]

one shrimp two shrimp red shrimp blue shrimp