Synchiropus ocellatus – the “Ocellated dragonet” (or “Scooter Blenny”) is one of my favorite marine fish. A couple of months ago, not-so-little Elvis began a nightly ritual: swimming back and forth, up and down, along the surface of the water. He did it for hours on end, starting just after sunset and continuing until the tank lights went out for the night. After a little research, I realized he was trying to find a mate; in the wild, male blennies “dance” near the surface to advertise their availability to females in the area. Unfortunately for Elvis, no female was going to wander into his territory
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Synchiropus splendidus (But We Call Her Flutter).
One of my favorite reef-dwelling fish is Synchiropus splendidus–common name, Mandarin Dragonet. Wherein lies the problem: unless you can train a mandarin dragonet to recognize “dead” foods, or you’re willing to pay $20 a week to buy live “Tigger pods” to repopulate your reef, the mandarin is likely to starve in captivity. Ironically, a seahorse tank provides the perfect environment for mandarin dragonets to flourish. Despite their vacuous expressions and generally peaceful tendencies, most mandarin dragonets are intelligent fish that can and will learn by observing others. Specifically, they watch the seahorses eat from feeding bowls and figure out that whatever is in the
Read moreReturn to the Reef!
In all the excitement of launching the second Shinobi Mystery, BLADE OF THE SAMURAI, I may have forgotten a couple of Tuesday Reefs… I’ve still been taking pictures, however, so fortunately there’s something to share today. Here’s a photo-status-update of the reef! Ghillie the seahorse likes to sit under the new sun coral – to reference a favorite book from my childhood, he’s a regular Ferdinand: My abalone, Oscar, spends his days consuming algae. Unfortunately, he’s nearsighted, and can’t always tell the difference between an algae-covered rock and a seahorse: When he does find his way to the algae, however,
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