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Frogfish (Part 1)

Wednesday, 13 May 2009

Swimming along the reef, frogfish are hard to spot because they are masters of disguise. Who would ever think a fish could grow these hair-like structures all over their body! This is really part of the hairy frogfish and how they get their name. They are predators in our ocean and stalk their prey much like lions do on land. They will find a place on the bottom and blend into their surroundings looking like coral, sponge or even algae.

One of the best parts of scuba diving is learning behavior of the animals and then seeing it in the wild. In the video you just watched there was a mating pair of damsel fish that were defending and aerating their nest of eggs. Often the male damsel fish protects an algae nest that a female will come and lay her eggs in. The male will then tend the nest and attract other females. This frog fish settled in next to the nest of eggs and it was almost like the damsel fish knew it was there and was trying to annoy it so much that it would move on before the frog fish could eat the damsel fish.

Living in Indonesia for a couple of years, I studied quite a few pairs of frogfish. They tended to live solitary lives and come together during at dusk during mating season every couple of nights. Many people thought it was a mama and baby because the size difference was great, but it was really a mama and papa frogfish! They are some of my favorite fish in the ocean!

Can you spot the frog fish in these pictures?

BLUE OCEAN TIP: Everything we do on land affects the ocean. In the western world we have instituted recycling and different forms of waste collection, but it has been found that in some cities and states what they claim to be recycled is not really happening. What is happening in your neighborhood, in your city or state? You need to investigate to make sure that your recycling is really taking place!