Fish Files in your Backyard
Picasso Triggerfish (Rhinecanthus aculeatus)
Where do I live?
I live in marine environments and am a common aquarium fish. In the wild I am native to Hawaii, Marquesas Islands, Polynesia, Micronesia, Philippines, China, East Indies, Indian Ocean, Africa, and the Red Sea. I like shallow waters near coral reef that provide a lot of rocky area for me to hide and search for food.
What do I look like?
In Hawaii my name can be translated to mean “fish with pig-nosed face.” I am grayish in colour and have bright yellow, blue, black and white banded markings.
What do I eat?
I am a carnivore; I like to eat small invertebrates like sea urchins, crabs, molluscs and worms. I use my mouth to blow over invertebrates and attack their soft undersides. I also eat other fish. Be careful because I have sharp teeth and may bite!
What is unique about me?
I have three sharp spines, or triggers, located on the top of my head in front of my first dorsal fin which can be used for protection. I also have another single spine located near my pelvic fins. When I am scared I can become aggressive but sometimes hide and turn to my side, raising my spines.
How Common am I?
I have a very large native range and am not threatened or endangered of going extinct.
Giant Snakehead (Channa micropeltes)
Where do I live?
I am found in the freshwater of South East Asia and India including, Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, and Malaysia.
What do I look like?
Juvenilles are red with orange and black lateral stripes. Adults can grow up to 1m in length and are bluish black with a white pattern on their upper body.
What do I eat?
I eat almost anything including fish, amphibians and even small birds.
What is unique about me?
I have the ability to crawl onto land and breathe air in muddy or swampy areas where the oxygen levels are low due to my primitive lung located just behind my gills.
How Common am I?
In some places I may be considered an invasive species due to the release from aquariums. I may become established in places due to warmwater effluents that allow me to survive in colder climates, such as Canada. I am not threatened or endangered