Monday 20 June 2011

Black Moor Gold Fish

Black Moors (Carassius auratus) have deep bodies and long, flowing finnage, along with characteristic protruding eyes. They are veiltailed and possess metallic scales with a velvet-like appearance
Young Moors resemble bronze fantails. Their black coloration and eye protrusion develop with age . They can grow up to a length of 10 inches, but may not lose their velvet-like appearance with increasing age (life span: 6 to 25 years). Black demekins may also revert to metallic orange when exposed to warm water temperature. The fish can range in coloring anywhere from a lighter grey to a dark black, but most Black Moor goldfish don't stay pure black forever and many of them change colors from a rust color underbelly to orange splotches.
Black moor goldfish are popular because they are hardy fish, and because their black color sets them apart from the more common gold color. Goldfish are typically easy to care for, surprisingly, black moors in particular are able to withstand a wide variety of temperatures. They are good with other fish. Although do not get along with male Siamese Fighting Fish because of their dark colour and similar size the Siamese Fighting fish will attack the Black Moor because it sees it as competition.

Sunday 19 June 2011

Black Ghost

The black ghost knifefish, Apteronotus albifrons, is a tropical fish belonging to the ghost knifefish family (Apteronotidae). They originate in South America in the Amazon Basin in Peru and from Venezuela through Paraguay in the Paraná River. They are becoming popular in aquaria. The fish is all black except for two white rings on its tail, and a white blaze on its nose, which can occasionally extend into a stripe down its back. It moves mainly by undulating a long fin on its underside. It will grow to a maximum length of 20 inches (40 centimeters). It does not have scales.
They are nocturnal, but they are weakly electric fish and use an electric organ and receptors distributed over the length of their body in order to locate insect larvae.
The black ghost knifefish natively lives in fast moving, sandy bottom creeks in a tropical climate. South American natives believe that the ghosts of the departed take up residence in these fish,

Friday 17 June 2011

Star fish

Starfish or sea stars are echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea.The names "starfish" and "sea star" essentially refer to members of the class Asteroidea. However, common usage frequently finds "starfish" and "sea star" also applied to ophiuroids which are correctly referred to as "brittle stars" or "basket stars".
There are 2,000 living species of starfish that occur in all the world's oceans, including the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian as well as in the Arctic and the Southern Ocean (i.e., Antarctic) regions. Starfish occur across a broad depth range from the intertidal to abyssal depths (>6000 m).
Starfish are among the most familiar of marine animals and possess a number of widely known traits, such as regeneration and feeding on mussels. Starfish possess a wide diversity of body forms and feeding methods. The extent that Asteroidea can regenerate varies with individual species. Broadly speaking, starfish are opportunistic feeders, with several species having specialized feeding behavior, including suspension feeding and specialized predation on specific prey.
The Asteroidea occupy several important roles throughout ecology and biology. Sea stars, such as the Ochre sea star (Pisaster ochraceus) have become widely known as the example of the keystone species concept in ecology. The tropical Crown of Thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) are voracious predators of coral throughout the Indo-Pacific region. Other starfish, such as members of the Asterinidae are frequently used in developmental biology.

Tuesday 14 June 2011

The black tetra also known as the black skirt tetra, high-fin black skirt tetra or black widow tetra is a freshwater fish of the characin family (family Characidae) (which includes all tetras, including the piranha), of order Characiformes. It is native to the Paraguay and Guaporé River basins of southern Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia.
Growing to about 6 cm (2.5 in) total length, the black tetra has a roughly tetragonal body shape and is greyish in colour, fading from light at the nose to near black at the tail. Two prominent black vertical bars appear just posterior of the gills. It is a schooling fish, and requires at least 6 in a group, but they can also make do with 3-4 tetras per aquarium.
The black widow tetra feeds on small crustaceans, insects, and worms.
The white widow tetra reaches sexual maturity at about two years of age. They will spawn in water 78 degrees F. A separate spawning tank, heavily planted and at least 15 gallons, is recommended. Like most characins, white tetras spawn by intermittently releasing and fertilizing eggs among the plants. These fish are frequent egg-eaters and must be removed after spawning. The young are easy to raise, subsisting on newly hatched brine shrimp or powdered processed foods.

Blue Tang Dory


Paracanthurus hepatus is a species of Indo-Pacific surgeonfish. A popular fish in marine aquaria, it is the only member of the genus Paracanthurus. A number of common names are attributed to the species, including regal tang, palette surgeonfish, blue tang (leading to confusion with the Atlantic Acanthurus coeruleus), royal blue tang, hippo tang, flagtail surgeonfish and blue surgeonfish.
Paracanthurus hepatus has a royal blue body, yellow tail, and black 'palette' design. The lower body is yellow in the west-central Indian Ocean. It grows to 30 cm (12 in.). The species' range is broad, but it is nowhere common. It can be found throughout the Indo-Pacific. It is seen in reefs of East Africa, Japan, Samoa, New Caledonia, and the Great Barrier Reef. This fish is rather flat, like a pancake, with a circular body shape, a pointed snout-like nose, and small scales. The blue tang has 9 dorsal spines, 26-28 dorsal soft rays, 3 anal spines, and 24-26 anal soft rays.
The Blue tang would have to be one of the most common and most popular Marine Fish all over the world. They live in pairs, or in a small groups of up to 10 or 12 individuals. These fish reach sexual maturity at 9-12 months of age.
The blue tang is not evaluated by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), but is of low vulnerability.
As a juvenile, its diet consists primarily of plankton. Adults are omnivorous and feed on plankton, but will also graze on algae. Spawning occurs during late afternoon and evening hours. This event is indicated by a change in color from a uniform dark blue to a pale blue.
Males aggressively court female members of the school, leading to a quick upward spawning rush toward the surface of the water during which eggs and sperm are released. The eggs are small, approximately 0.8 mm in diameter. The eggs are Pelagic , each containing a single droplet of oil for flotation. The fertilized eggs hatch in twenty-four hours, revealing small, translucent larvae with silvery abdomens and rudimentary caudal spines.












Lion fish

Pterois is a genus of venomous marine fish found mostly in the Indo-Pacific, known collectively as the lionfish. Pterois is characterized by red, white and black stripes, showy pectoral fins and venomous spiky tentacles. Pterois are classified into fifteen different species, but Pterois radiata, Pterois volitans and Pterois miles are the most commonly studied. Pterois are popular aquarium fish and are readily utilized in the culinary world.
In the mid 1990s, the species P. volitans and P. miles were unintentionally introduced into the Atlantic Ocean and have become an invasive species along the East Coast of the United States.

Sunday 12 June 2011

Silver Shark

The Bala shark, Balantiocheilos melanopterus, also known as the tricolor shark, silver shark, or shark minnow, is a fish species of the family Cyprinidae, and is one of the two species in the genus Balantiocheilos. This species is not a true shark, but is commonly called a "shark" because of its torpedo-shaped body and large fins.