Fishy tales from the Aquarium

Robot fish developed by British scientists are to be released into the sea off north Spain to detect pollution.
If next year’s trial of the first five robotic fish in the northern Spanish port of Gijon is successful, the team hopes they will be used in rivers, lakes and seas across the world.
The carp-shaped robots, costing 20,000 pounds ($29,000) apiece, mimic the movement of real fish and are equipped with chemical sensors to sniff out potentially hazardous pollutants, such as leaks from vessels or underwater pipelines.
They will transmit the information back to shore using Wi-Fi technology.
Unlike earlier robotic fish, which needed remote controls, they will be able to navigate independently without any human interaction.
The robot fish will be 1.5 meters (nearly 5 feet) long – roughly the size of a seal. [Via]

Proving to be a big hit with the visitors are Blue Planet Aquarium’s latest arrivals – three rare nautilus – ancient relatives of octopus and squid – which were last seen in the region more than 100 million years ago.
Once common in all the world’s oceans there are now only two known living species, both confined to deep waters in the tropical Indo-Pacific.
Blue Planet’s Andrea Redfern said: “Nautilus are incredible natural survivors that have remained virtually unchanged for millions and millions of years. They are very similar to the ammonites which are regularly found in the region by fossil hunters.” [Via]

The Archerfish (or archer fish) are a family (Toxotidae) of fish known for their amazing ability to seal their gills and shoot a high power stream of water at their prey. This helps them to knock their food off from low hanging branches into the water, which are then gobbled up by the fish. A large lower jaw helps these fish to hunt.
Quite amazingly, these fish are remarkably accurate in their shooting; adult fish almost always hit the target on the first shot. They can bring down an insect six feet above the water’s surface. This is partially due to their good eyesight, but also because of their ability to compensate for the refraction which occurs when light travels through water. They do this by swimming directly under the prey, where the distortion is the least. However, experimentation has shown that the Archerfish can hit prey at greater angles than a perpendicular angle without losing on accuracy. (more…)

Well, actually it is an albino dolphin that was spotted and photographed by charter boat captain Erik Rue, when he began studying it after the mammal first surfaced in Lake Calcasieu, an inland saltwater estuary, north of the Gulf of Mexico in southwestern USA.
The dolphin, is entirely pink from tip to tail and has reddish eyes indicating its albinism. The skin appears smooth, glossy pink and without flaws.
Regina Asmutis-Silvia, senior biologist with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said: “I have never seen a dolphin coloured in this way in all my career.”
A close relation of dolphins, the Amazon River Botos, called pink dolphins, live in South America in the Amazon. [Via]

As part of promoting ‘fisheries tourism’, the Kerala Government has initiated a proposal to set up a Rs 350 crore Oceanarium (a simulated ocean) to allow people and researchers to view and study marine species in their simulated natural habitat.
For instance, visitors would be able to get a feel of walking on the sea bed getting a clear view of the spectacular water world. The main tank is  planned to reflect the various aspects of the world beneath the ocean, with reef, rock and weed structures to help reproduce the natural habitat for the marine species. (more…)

Come April, and the Georgia Aquarium plans to open 1,000-gallon exhibit on lionfish -  the colorful tropical fish with showy fins and venomous spines that are invading the state’s coast like an out-of-control weed.
Because lionfish, which are native to the South Pacific, have no natural predators in Georgia waters, their population is exploding and thus having a negative impact on native species, including small grouper, crustaceans and anything else that the lionfish can swallow whole.
While researchers have not been able to put a finger on their population in the region, their tendency to reproduce quickly, and their fearlessness, thanks to the non-lethal but incredibly painful venom in their spine, means they invade with impunity. (more…)

Octopus Week at the Seattle Aquarium, and handlers were hoping an arranged meeting between two Pacific octopuses — Popeye, a 45-pound male, and Pepper, a 35-pound female — would end arm-in-arm-in-arm-in-arm-in-arm.
But the octopus as it turned out wanted to test their patience. Though the mood was set with Barry White music, Popeye chose to sleep in his corner while Pepper never got closer than half a tank away. (more…)

Very broadly, fish can be roughly divided into three types – community fish, semi-aggressive fish, and aggressive fish.
When you are planning your community tank, you need to decide what are the kind of fish that you want to keep, and decide on each individual species accordingly. For a community tank for instance, you would need fish that are able to co-exist together, without harming each other. Typically, the larger the tank, the greater your choices.

Community fish: These are very peaceful fish that are docile and generally fairly small. These fish can generally be mixed in any combination, provided that the smallest fish is too big to fit in the largest fish’s mouth.
Some examples of community fish include most tetras (such as neon tetra, glow light, and bloodfin), most live-bearers (like guppies, platys, mollies, and swordtails), danios (like the zebra danio), some barbs (cherry, gold,and rosy), corydoras catfish, smaller rasboras, etc. (more…)