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Key Points |
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Do you know your Angel from your butterfly fish?
Read on... |
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Red Sea Life - Fish
There is nothing to compare
to the sheer beauty of a reef dive in the Red Sea. Below are just some
of the wonderful creatures that we have been fortunate enough to see
on some of the club trips. Click on any picture to enlarge it.
| There are over 70 different species of
Angelfish found in warm ocean waters around much of the world,
a few species are from fresh water. Angelfish belong to the family
Pomacanthus. These brightly-coloured, flattened body fish live
in coral reefs in tropical seas and shallow subtropical waters.
Angelfish reproduce by laying hundreds of eggs at a time. The first
gill cover has a spine (pre-opercula) and this can help distinguish
Angelfish from the closely-related butterfly fish. Most species
of Angelfish are herbivores (plant-eaters). |
Royal Angelfish (Pygoplites diacanthus) |
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Size: up to about 25cm. |
Emperor Angelfish (Pomacanthus imperator) |
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These are territorial fish and stay fairly close
to home. The juvenile and adult Emperor Angelfish have very
different coloration, the juveniles are striped black and white;
adults are yellow, blue, black, and white. When fully grown they
are about 40cm long.
The Emperor Angelfish is a meat-eater (carnivore), eating
coral heads, small invertebrates (e.g., sponges and worms),
and crustaceans (e.g., shrimp and shellfish). They can crush
hard-shelled prey with their powerful, beak-like jaws.
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| This group called Pomacentridae is
one of the most numerous groups of coral reefs. |
Sergeant Major (Abudefdur saxatilis) |
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Characteristically they have 5 prominent vertical
stripes with some yellowish colouring on its back. They feed on algae,
small crustaceans and fish, and various invertebrate larvae and
will approach divers who might feed them. They can grow up to about
8 inches long, this one was about 4 inches long. |
Red Sea Anemone fish (Amphiprion bicinctus) |
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Probably the most photographed fish in the red sea,
the anemone or clown fish. For those that don't know, these are
fascinating in that they have a symbiotic relationship with the
anemone, they use the stinging tentacles of the sea anemone for
protection. In fact they are so dependant on this that you will
never one without a host anemone. If a predator approaches the
anemone fish will retreat into the tentacles and any predators
will get stung by the anemone's stinging cells. It is thought that
the anemone fish themselves are protected by a coat of mucous.
The fish in turn will also protect the anemone by attacking any
threats, small or large. There are over 1,000 species of
sea anemones, of which only ten are host to anemone fishes and
there are about 28 species of anemone fishes. |
| Hawk fish, sometimes referred to as sentry
fish, don't get involved much in the busy reef life, they like
to be on the periphery, relaxed and distant, almost bored
as they lie motionless. But like hawks they \re just waiting until
the time is right to strike. |
Long Nosed Hawk Fish (Oxyccirrhites typus) |
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This little fellow is only about 13cm long. It waits,
ready to dart out and grab any small crustacean or small fish.
Inhabits steep outer reef slopes exposed to strong currents where
it lives in large gorgonians and black corals. They are quite hard
to find but can grow up to 5 inches. |
Parrott fish get their name from their
beak like teeth and their vibrant colours. Most of them feed on
the thin layers of algae which cover the corals. Divers can frequently
hear them scrape or crunch the coral. They are active during
daylight hours (diurnal ) and sleep in crevices at night. Amazingly,
some species cocoon themselves in mucous at night, perhaps as a
early warning kit, should predators approach or maybe its to keep
their smell from being detected.
Similarly to other fish they undergo a sex change as they grow older, changing
from female to male. |
Rusty Parrot Fish (Scarus ferrugineus) |
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This coincidentally name rusty parrot fish was photographed
on the rusting deck of the Thistlegorm. Note the cleaner wrasse
on its back. |
| Puffer fish have the ability to puff
themselves up when they are threatened or attacked. They do this
by pumping water into a stretchable area of the stomach, resulting
in a massive increase in their size. In doing this they loose their
mobility and speed but become very difficult to eat.
Their flesh is considered a delicacy in some parts of the
world, but they contain a powerful toxin and are generally
considered poisonous to eat. |
Giant Puffer Fish (Arothron stellatus) |
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This huge puffer fish was about a metre long and
seemed to move slowly and deliberately, about 6 inches from the
sea bed. They are generally solitary and feed, like all puffers,
on crustaceans and echinoderms. They can grow up to about 120cm
and are sometimes referred to as a Star Puffer. |
Masked Puffer Fish (Arothron diadematus) |
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This puffer actually sleeps at night using a coral
as his 'bed'. While sleeping their skin colour gets darker and
the mask becomes invisible. They can grow to about 30cm, this one
was about 25, Cute or what! |
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Blue Spotted Ray |
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Like all stingrays they have venomous spines at the
base of the tail. They are usually found lying on sandy bottoms,
under an overhang and they frequently flick sand over themselves
as camouflage. They feed on molluscs and crabs and can occasionally
be seen digging up the sand. Their pectoral fins are like wings
that enable the fish to 'fly' through the water. Females can produce
a litter of up to 7 young. An adult may grow to about 100cm across.
They breathe by drawing water through a small hole behind
the eye and expelling it through gill slits on their undersides. |
Manta Ray (Manta birostris) |
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Manta rays are the largest rays and are closely related
to sharks. They are harmless and have no stinging tail. They are
often seen with remoras and are very graceful and acrobatic. They
can grow up to about 7 Metres across.
Mantas eat microscopic plankton, small fish, and tiny crustaceans.
They funnel the food into their mouth while they swim, using
two large, flap-like cephalic lobes which extend forward from
the eyes. |
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