Chicago: another mass animal death

Along the Chicago lakefront, gizzard shad - a type of herring — are dying off in large numbers. Thousands, maybe more, are dead and frozen or floating in Lake Michigan. Geese and ducks are feeding on the dead and dying fish.

 

Gizzard shad, members of the herring family, are more sensitive to drops in oxygen levels than most fish. And thick ice came early to Chicago harbors in December.

PHOTO: Dale Bowman~For the Sun-Times

Wrasse Bird Care Tips

Wrasse Bird

Wrasse Bird Care Tips
The bird or fish Gomphosus Varius is a species of the family Labridae. Its natural habitat is quite wide. It stretches from Hawaii in the heart of Polynesia in the south and west to southern Japan. Also inhabit the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea off the coast of West Africa.
These creatures are not only looking for the name of his snout bears a striking resemblance to the beak of a bird. As adults, each sex has its own color palette. Men typically range from blue-green and dark green long or medium. The previous women's bodies "are a creamy white with dark brown almost black top. The color is so different from each other that often two very different fish means a fish or fish green bird brown. The young people of both sexes have a brown color. The elongated tip that this fish is the name not to develop into adolescence.
This species is marketed under various names, fish, poultry, bird fish, Blue Bird Wrasse, Blue-Green Bird Wrasse, Black Bird Wrasse, Brown Bird Wrasse, Green Bird Wrasse, Indian Ocean Bird Wrasse, and the Red Sea Bird Wrasse.
Bird wrasses are among the largest salt water aquarium. They reach a size of an adult 11 to 12 inches long. A minimum tank size of 100 liters is recommended. This is a very active species, which is always in motion. Requires a large amount of open space to swim in. You are preparing for the purchase of thinking: take the bridges and have been known to jump from open aquariums. You must also supply a large amount of rock work and caves. If you do not touch the substrate to sleep at night it hangs under the guidance will be from one of these ornaments.
Bird wrasse is a hardy fish. Acclimatize well aquarium life. The mild climate is generally considered semi-aggressive. They will do to people in the community best when confronted with fish of similar size and attitude. Not amenable to other species. They would especially like to avoid confusion with small fish with elongated body. You can wake up less in an aquarium.
Never put two males in the aquarium itself. His temperament is extremely aggressive step of semi. male female combination is in order. You can get a wife or more. Place (s) the first woman to the new environment. Then follow the male.
In nature, a male harem of females chair. Nature has a unique opportunity to spread the species of fish. When separated from the harem, a single female, a man will become. Once this transformation is completed, the new man is beginning a harem of his own.
This fish is carnivorous trailer. Its long beak used in small crustaceans and smashing into the seabed until they are biting properly classified. Consequently, the good people of Ocean Reef. They will eat the little creatures in your aquarium decoration.
In captivity, these fish are fed brine shrimp, mysis shrimp vitamin enriched frozen meat eaters base, or small pieces of fish and seafood (seafood especially), purchased at your local grocery store. They should be fed three times daily.

Boo!

Photograph by Michael McEvoy, DEEP Indonesia/Barcroft/Fame Pictures

A close-up of a blue-eyed moray eel in Indonesia captured an honorable mention in the "Indonesia Residents" category of the fourth annual Deep Indonesia International Underwater Photo Competition, whose winning photos were released to the press earlier this month.

Known to grow as long as about 5 feet (1.5 meters), moray species generally lack pectoral fins, unlike most other eel species.

Source

10 Most Diabolical Fish On Earth

This piranha is one of the disgusting looking creatures included in Environmental Graffiti's list of the 10 Most Diabolical Fish On Earth.

Don't go in the water!

Photo from Flickr, by Laura Travels

This is fishy

Cute?

I don't speak Russian, but I think it's for a series of ads for AquaMagazine.

More here.

Friday is fish day

Here's a fishy story

Employees of a Pennsylvania pet store expecting a shipment of tropical fish and salt water received a man's dead body instead.

Mark Arabia owns the Pets Plus store in northeast Philadelphia, where the mix-up was discovered Tuesday. He said he learned the body was that of a 65-year-old San Diego-area man who died of early onset Alzheimer's disease.

The deceased man's wife said she was shocked initially, but found the former mailman's posthumous postal mix-up funny.

The body was supposed to go to a research laboratory in Allentown, 70 miles away.

The fish were left at the airport and probably died.

Source

Cute or not? Wobbegong Shark Pups

Photo found at ZooBorns

You learn something new every day

The photo above is a Jenny Haniver.

That's not the name of a person, it's the carcass of a ray or a skate which has been modified and subsequently dried, resulting in a grotesque preserved specimen. [wiki]

One suggestion for the origin of the term was "jeune d'Anvers" (French for Antwerp is Anvers), that is "young girl of Antwerp." British sailors "cockneyed" this description into the personal name "Jenny Hanvers."

For centuries, sailors sat on the Antwerp docks and carved these "mermaids" out of dried cuttlefish. They then preserved them further with a coat of varnish. They supported themselves by selling their artistic creations to working sailors as well as to tourists visiting the docks.

Jenny Hanivers have been created to look like devils, angels and dragons.

It is possible that Jenny Hanivers were the source of some tales of dragons during the Middle Ages, and they affirmed people's belief in dragons. Jenny Hanivers may also have started the legends of Mermaids.

(via Cynical-C)

At Susology, the story of an artist currently creating Jenny Hanivers.

Photo credit: Awkward Conversations post on "Rogue Taxidermy: The Jenny Haniver".

Funky fish found - the frogfish

A funky, psychedelic fish that bounces on the ocean floor like a rubber ball has been classified as a new species, a scientific journal reported. The frogfish — which has a swirl of tan and peach zebra stripes that extend from its aqua eyes to its tail — was initially discovered by scuba diving instructors working for a tour operator a year ago in shallow waters off Ambon island in eastern Indonesia.

Each time the fish strike the seabed, they push off with their fins and expel water from tiny gill openings to jet themselves forward. That, and an off-centered tail, causes them to bounce around in a bizarre, chaotic manner.

Photo credit: David Hall
Source

Cute or not? Atlantic wolffish

Bacalhau da Consoada (Christmas Eve Codfish)

The New York Times recently had an interesting article on the importance of salted cod to Portuguese Christmas dinners:

“Bacalhau, as the fish is called here, is to Christmas Eve in Portugal what turkey is to Thanksgiving in America. Treasured since the 16th century, when Portuguese fishermen first brought it back from, it bore the nickname fiel amigo — faithful friend. Its correct preparation is a source of pride, a sign of respect for family values."
"Every Portuguese, it seems, likes to boast that there are 1,000 recipes for bacalhau and that the people here eat more of it than do those anywhere else in the world.”

If you want to try celebrating this Christmas the Portuguese way, we recommend this traditional recipe from Cuisines of Portuguese Encounters, Expanded Edition. As the author Cherie Hamilton says about it:

Codfish prepared for the consoada (the traditional Christmas Eve dinner) is an alternative to the codfish cooks with todos (literally "all"), which is traditionally served for supper on December 25. This particular recipe, besides being very enticing, appeals to those who like their codfish served in large pieces. In some homes it is served as a second course, preceded by boiled crabs, shrimp, and lobster; and followed by roast turkey or Roast Suckling Pig (page 44) and the trimmings.

2 pounds thick salt cod fillets
6 medium onions, peeled
6 carrots, peeled
2 pounds medium white potatoes, peeled
3 pounds collard greens, stems removed
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup olive oil
8 cloves garlic, smashed
6 to 8 hard-boiled eggs (1 per person)

Soak the salt cold fillets in cold water to cover for 24 hours int he refrigerator, changing the water frequently.

Drain the salt cold and place in a large pot with the onions, carrots, potatoes, greens, and salt. Cook over medium heat until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan and saute the garlic cloves until lightly golden. Keep warm.

Arrange the codfish, onions, carrots, potatoes, collards, and eggs on a large platter or several platters. Serve the warm olive oil with garlic in a bowl on the side to drizzle over the fish and vegetables.

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.