2/09/2006

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.

2 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

Love your blog about fish, especially your betta fish and angler fish blog. Have bookmarked it and will be back.

I got several good pics of betta and is looking for more. if you willing to let me put your betta pics in my blog, I will include a link to your site. :)

Your fellow betta blogger http://aquariumlore.blogspot.com

4:30 PM  
Blogger juned said...

Eugene,
Thanks. I might be moving to a new domain in the near future and when I do I will leave a link

12:19 PM  

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