Still more ruckus about who is t he smallest fish

The debate on which is the smallest fish in the world is still getting some attention. An article from National Geographic.

A friend of mine told me that it may not be recognised as the smallest fish but it sure is one of the ugliest. Well considering the fish in the picture is a preserved specimen my friend may be a bit harsh. I guess that is the problem when you look at a preserved specimen. The formalin or alcohol that is used to preserved the specimens also take out the color of the fish. As a fisheries student taking up Icthyology I found it a bit boring to remember colorless specimens. It would have been better if they still had their colour. Then again studying colourless fish has its advantages - you tend to focus more on the structure of the fish. And the angler fish would be hard to forget. Although the smell of formalin is sickening and sticks to you.

Despite its appearance the Anglerfish is visually spectacular fish because it one of those ambush predators. It looks like a piece of rock and the fish uses this effectively to hide his presence and the fish does this so effectively that it gets its food this way. It is also one of the fish that has the most vivid color.

Check the pictures of the Anglerfish at Oceans by Anderson.

The Anglerfish is an interesting fish to keep in a saltwater aquarium. Although, It must be remembered that it is a predator, it will eat up any fish that will come close to it and it can hide itself among the rocks. I kept one when I was doing some work for a public aquarium exhibit.

Smallest Fish: Round II

It would seem that the argument over which fish deserves the title of world's smallest fish is not yet over.

Here is the link:

Smallest fish compete for honours
By Rebecca Morelle
BBC News science reporter

THE CONTENDERS

There are now three contenders to the throne.

Paedocypris sp
Found in Indonesia and lives in the peat swamp of Sumatra. The specimen is a female

Schindleria brevipinguis
A male stout infant fish, which measures 7mm in total length. Lives in the Great Barrier Reef. The information was found in the records of the Australian Museum in 2004.

Photocorynus spiniceps

The last contender is a male angler fish. It was discovered in the Philippines and reported in the Journal of Icthyological Research September 2005(?). Its total length (snout to tail) measures around 6.2 mm. The fish is said to spend its whole life to its female counterpart. Because of this the P spiniceps has been labelled as a sexual parasite. Although is the relationship really parasitic? The fish does aid in reproduction. Maybe the relationship can be described as mutually beneficial or mutualistic.

As compared to a set of Filipino politicians, pundits and self-appointed messiahs who seem to be in general political parasites, feeding on the body politic of the Philippines.

THE DEBATE

The debate may take years and additional research should be done. Yes, It will probably take years before this is settled.

I guess the stage has been set-up for the debate between Ichthyologists as to whose fish is the smallest. Despite the debate it would be interesting to record and study the life cycle of these fishes.