Tuesday Tank Shenanigans

Some weeks, the tank reminds me that nature, too, has a sense of humor.

I thought I’d share few of the recent smile-inducing moments:

The little female seahorse, Ceti, likes to hitch to a powerhead outflow near the top of the tank. Cygnus tried to copy her, only to learn that an eight-inch seahorse can’t quite fit in a four-inch space:

(He spent ten minutes repeating this “slip and fail” until he finally gave up and hitched elsewhere – at which point the female immediately hitched on this very spot.)

Emperor Maximus Angryfish continued his perpetual disapproval of all shenanigans – but early Saturday, he did it from the comfort of the clove polyps:

(Some mornings, it’s not worth the extra effort to leave your bed.)

The brittle stars normally hide in crevices and extend their arms to catch any food that goes by. They move to new hiding places at night, and I occasionally find one on the glass when the lights come on in the morning, but generally speaking starfish don’t leave their crevices during the day.

This little guy didn’t get the memo.

(He emerged from the rock, crossed the sand bed, climbed the entire length of the glass and took up residence in the filter intake screen. Given his size, I’m guessing he was ousted from his hiding place by a slightly larger star, though it’s still unusual that he decided to make the move in daylight.)

And finally, but certainly not least:

Sometimes when I’m trying to take a picture of the corals (or some other part of the tank) the fish get curious. The result?

Pipefish photobomb.

What’s your favorite of the four? Let me know!

Also: Congratulations to Julianne Douglas, the winner of the PORTRAITS OF AN ARTIST giveaway! Julianne, if you’ll email me your address, I’ll send it on to Mary Burns right away!