#880: Zono

Zono, or Zona, is the name given to various species of small, colourful rainbowfish, endemic to Madagascar. Several species are popular in the pet industry, and are capable of hybridisation. Inhabiting fast-flowing streams, he favours the calmer, shaded areas and feeds on insects that fall into the water. Eggs are attached to vegetation and left unguarded. Juvenile larvae remain near the banks, whilst adults occupy the deeper waters.

#876: Zebra Loach

The Zebra Loach is endangered in the wild, but readily available in the pet trade. He is a freshwater loach, native to the Western Ghats of India. A bottom-feeder, he hunts for invertebrates in the substrate, and has a particular fondness of snails, which make him popular with aquarists. If kept singly or in pairs, he can become reclusive and stressed; it is recommended to keep at least five. As with many popular pet species, poaching is a problem and Zebra Loach do not readily breed in the captivity. Commercial aquarists breed them with the use of hormones.

#875: Zebrafish

The Zebrafish is a small minnow, native to the Himalaya regions. He has also found some popularity in the pet trade. He was the first vertebrate to be cloned, and has amazing regenerative properties. He is used in heart research and has also been genetically modified to be fluorescent, branded as a GloFish.

#860: Yazoo Darter

Related to the vermilion darter, the Yazoo Darter is also restricted to limited range - in this case tributaries in north-central Mississippi. Like the vermilion, the Yazoo is under threat from habitat degradation. He requires clear, flowing water to thrive and he is threatened by urbanization. His diet consists predominantly of insects and other invertebrates. The majority of Darters live less than a year, with very few surviving past two.

Another vectored image. I like how clean it makes the images look.
(My husband laughs because I'm vectoring the images using VectorMagic, but since I'm not subscribed to it (yet), I'm screen capping the images and thus turning them back into bitmaps then saving as PNGs. Never fear, VectorMagic, once I am done with this alphabet I will subscribe for a few months and vectorise all of the pictures. All of them!).

#856: Yag Baligi

This ray-finned fish, belonging to the carp Family, is found only in one habitat within Turkey: Lake Egridir and its tributaries. He was thought to have become extinct, due to the introduction of the zander fish. However in 1993 a small population was discovered. He is now classified as Endangered.

#853: X-ray Tetra

The X-Ray Tetra is named for his translucent skin, which allows his backbone to be clearly visible. He is naturally found in the Amazon and Orinoco basins and is somewhat tolerant of brackish water.
He follows an omnivorous diet of plants and animal matter. He is generally peaceable among other species and sociable among his own. This, combined with his unique appearance, makes him popular in the pet industry. However, he is small in size and can fall prey to larger fish and amphibians.

#847: Wrasse

There are over 600 species of Wrasse, a Family of marine fishes.  Their mouths are protractile, with separate jaw teeth that jut outwards. Their lips are particularly well-formed, giving them the name Lippfische in German. Many species are capable of changing sex, with the larger females switching gender to male if the situation permits it. More rarely, some males become females. This fine specimen is a Mystery Wrasse. He can be found in the pet trade.

#836: Wobbegong

The Wobbegong, or carpet sharks, are a Family of sharks. They can be characterised by their cryptic colouration and generally flattened form. This makes her an ideal ambush predator and she spends much of her life resting on the ocean floor. Her whisker-like lobes are sensory organs, used to detect prey as it comes near her. Her teeth are small, but sharp, and although she mostly consumes small fish, she will bite if stepped on or provoked by divers.

#830: Whale Shark

Like the largest mammal, the largest fish also dines upon the smallest of creatures - plankton*. Whale Sharks can grow over 12m in length, weighing in at around 20 tons, and may grow significantly larger.He is a slow-moving shark, swimming through the water with his huge mouth open. Water is filtered through his 300 rows of tiny teeth and over his sieve-like filter pads. Crustaceans and other plankton is then swallowed, with excess water expelled through his gills. Whale Sharks are docile fish, and Vulnerable to extinction due to their long life and slow maturation.

* Not that plankton is exactly one creature. It is considered an ecological niche and can be divided into four trophic groups: Zoo- (crustaceans, larvae and any small lifeform ranging in size from microscopic to jellyfish); phyto- (lifeforms that require photosynthesis); myco- (fungi etc) and bacterio- (bacteria and archea).

I suspect the Whale Sharks diet consists predominantly of zooplankton.

#827: Weedy Seadragon

The Weedy Seadragon is a member of the seahorse Family. He inhabits coastal reefs, to depths of around 50 m. Slow moving, he relies on camouflage for protection and will generally be found amongst swaying seaweed, where his various leaf-like appendages blend in. His tail is not prehensile. His long, slender snout is used to suction up zooplankton. Like his hippocampus cousins, the male Weedy Seadragon carries the eggs in a pouch on the underside of his tail. Here he fertilised them, then carries them until they hatch into tiny, independent dragons.

The Weedy Seadragon is Near Threatened. Whilst there is some popularity for his species in the pet trade, survival rates are low and reproduction rare. However, it is mainly habitat disruption and destruction that is reponsible for his decline.

#795: Vermilion Darter

The Vermilion Darter is a Critically Endangered freshwater fish, found only in Turkey Creek in Alabama.This river drains more than 54,000 acres of farmland and, as such, is filled with sediment and undesirable chemicals. The diminutive Darter wasn't officially identified as a distinct species until 1992 and was classified as Endangered in 2001. In 2007, a recovery plan was set in place and, finally, in 2010 15 miles of critical habitat have been protected in the hope of saving the species.

#793: Velvet Leatherjacket

The Velvet Leatherjacket is a filefish found in the waters of eastern Australia and New Zealand.Generally solitary in nature, he feeds mainly on sessile and encrusting organisms, such as sponges. He is also known to occasionally nibble at the fingers of divers. His scales are covered in tiny spinules, which give him a velvety appearance. Eggs are laid and fertilised in rocky nests, where they are left to hatch without parental attention.

#782: Unicornfish

Unicornfish are a number of Naso species, related to tangs and surgeonfish. He is named for the horn-like appendage between his eyes, which tends to be longer in males. He grazes on algae, shifting to zooplankton if his horn gets too long for him to successfully scrape algae from the substrate. Generally fairly drab in colour, some species will change their colouration in response to stimuli - such as when he is courting a female, or seeking the assistance of cleaner wrasse.

This is a Bluespine Unicornfish.

#781: Umbrella-mouth Gulper

The Umbrella-mouth Gulper is a deep sea fish, named for his enormous jaws. These are used to consume crustaceans and it is thought that he swims along, mouth agape, collecting everything in his path. Squids and smaller invertebrates also are collected, as well as gret mouthfuls of water. These are flushed out through his gills. As he matures, his jaws and teeth atrophy, to be replaced by enlarged olfactory organs. These may help him locate a mate in his almost lightless habitat. It is suspected that he will die soon after spawning. Very little else is known about this bizarre predator, as it lives at such extreme depths that it is generally only seen when inadverently captured in a fishing net.

#772: Tuna

Tuna is one of the most popular table fish, with cans of this handsome fellow being a staple in most pantries. What most people don't realise is that Tuna are massive: the Atlantic can reach lengths of over 4m, and the Bluefin averages 2m. This makes him one of the largest carnivorous fishes in the world. He is an active and agile predator - the Yellowfin can reach speeds up to 75 km/hr. Tuna grow fast and breed young, but Bluefins may live up to 50 years.

Tuna are seriously overfished. The Southern Bluefin is Critically Endangered, and almost every other species is catagorised from "Near Threatened" to "Endangered". Some fisheries have experimented with farming and ranching tuna, with limited success. Without careful management, these majestic ocean predators could disappear from our oceans.

#768: Trout

Trout are several species of common freshwater fish, closely related to salmon and charr. They favour cool, clear freshwater lakes and streams and are native to Eurasia and America. Several species - specifically the rainbow and the brown - are popular in recreational fishing and have been introduced to Australia and New Zealand. Predatory in nature, Trout hunt invertebrates and smaller fish, proving to have anegative impact on native fish to the areas in which they've been introduced. 

#759: Tiger Shark

The Tiger Shark is an apex predator and will eat almost anything - from crustaceans to whales, even smaller sharks and inedible manmade objects. She is considered one of the most dangerous shark species as she often comes close to shore and thus into contact with people. However, she is far more at risk from us than we are from her; she is hunted and killed for her fins, flesh and liver.

#742: Tang

Tang are various species of Acanthuridae fish, related closely to Unicornfish and Surgeonfish. This particular species, the Blue Tang, is widespread throughout the Indo-Pacific, but not common anywhere. She is very popular in the aquarium industry, despite following a fairly delicate diet and being prone to parasitic infections. She feeds on algae and plankton. When she is ready to breed, her colour lightens to a pale blue. Males will court her aggressively, rushing to release their sperm into the water with her eggs. These float upwards, attached to a bubble of bouyant oil. These will hatch in a day into tiny transparent larvae.

If she looks familiar, that's because she's Dory from "Finding Nemo". Look, I found her!

#710: Sockeye Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish, all sharing the same Family, along with trout, char and grayling. Popular in aquaculture, they are farmed throughout the world. However, they are naturally found in the North Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Most species, including the Sockeye, are anadromous; hatching in the freshwater, the fry then migrate out into the ocean to feed and grow. Once sexual maturity is attained, he begins the journey back up the river - normally the same river he was born in - to breed. Once he has spawned, releasing masive amoutns of hormones, his body begins to deteriorate and he dies.

#694: Shark

Sharks are cartilaginous fish ranging in size from 17 cm (the Dwarf Lanternshark) to the Whale Shark, the largest fish in the sea, who measures 12 m in length. Sharks can be traced back 420 million years. They favour a salt-water environment, although some species have been found in freshwater. Sharks replace their teeth continuously throughout their life. These grow in rows in their jaw, pushing forward like a conveyor belt. Nearly every species is carnivorous, and some are noted for being voracious predators. A few species feed on plankton.

This fellow is a Great White Shark, probably the most famous species.

Other species in this blog:
Leopard Shark
Nurse Shark
Goblin Shark
Hammerhead
Dogfish