A Trip To The Public Aquarium

[SLC Flyfishing]

I took the family to the public aquarium yesterday, I took a lot of pictures and I thought I'd share them with you guys.

Enjoy!

And andywg, I know you keep exotic lionfish, what types are these? the aquarium is just opened so they didn't have identification plaques on the tanks.

SLC

 

[The-Wolf]

pic 1 Fuzzy dwarf lionfish Dendrochirus brachypterus
pic 2 & 3 I'll leave them to the expert
pic 4 The percula clownfish Amphiprion percula
pic 5 & 6 jellyfish
pic 7 definatly a Salmonid of some kind

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

pic 1 Fuzzy dwarf lionfish Dendrochirus brachypterus
pic 2 & 3 I'll leave them to the expert
pic 4 The percula clownfish Amphiprion percula
pic 5 & 6 jellyfish
pic 7 definatly a Salmonid of some kind

I know what the others are, just not the top two.

Thanks for the ID of #1.
#3 is a june sucker, a freshwater species that is endangered locally.

SLC

 

[Lynden]

Number two, an Ambon lionfish or Rhinopias, perhaps?

 

[shibby]

number 2 looks like its been deep fried

 

[n3ont3tra]

Lol yeah.
Nice pics!

 

[sophos9]

Dude, those pix are great - what camera you using?

 

[SkiFletch]

Number 2 is a frogfish of some kind. Andywg would know better.

Number 3 actually might be Amphipron Ocellaris instead of Percula... Unfortunately a definitive ID cannot be made from that pic. You have to count the spines on the dorsal fin. 10 spines = percula, 8 spines = ocellaris, 9 spines = hybrid. Or maybe that's backwards, I always forget which is which

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

Dude, those pix are great - what camera you using?

Really, I thought they were pretty crappy, it's terrible trying to shoot through glass (well when the glass isn't part of your lens anyway).

I use a Pentax K10D and these were shot using a 50 mm f/1.4 prime lens. This lens sort of imparts a 3D look to some of the shots don't you think?

SLC

P.S. Skifletch, I think you're on the right track, #2 is some sort of frogfish.

 

[Lynden]

Number three, an Ambon lionfish or Rhinopias, perhaps?

Number 2 is a frogfish of some kind. Andywg would know better.

I meant number two, typo.
The fish is almost assuredly not a frogfish. It has the wrong shape/fins. It's probably a scorpionfish of some kind like the Ambon Lionfish or a Rhinopias.

 

[Musho3210]

Number 2 is a frogfish of some kind. Andywg would know better.

Number 3 actually might be Amphipron Ocellaris instead of Percula... Unfortunately a definitive ID cannot be made from that pic. You have to count the spines on the dorsal fin. 10 spines = percula, 8 spines = ocellaris, 9 spines = hybrid. Or maybe that's backwards, I always forget which is which

I thought it was 11-10-9 percula hybrid o. respectively. It does look more like an O. though.

 

[andywg]

I would definitely say number 2 is a scorpion fish of the Rhinopias genus . the give away to stop it being a frogfish is the dorsal fin formation. A frogfish has three dorsal spines (of which the ilicium, or lure isthe first) which stand out on their own. The dorsal fin "proper" is then behind the three spines with only rays which are all connected.

The Rhinopias sp are very similar to frogfish in strike style (large mouth opening and expanding creating a vacuum) and movement style (rarely swimming, but preferring to "walk" on fins). however these are members of the Family Scorpaenidae rather than Antennariidae. My best guess at a species would be the Weedy scorpionfish (Rhinopias frondosa). It appears Lynden got a good shout at identifying this. The main difference between Rhinopias spp and the ambon scoprioonfish (Pteroidichthys amboensis) is the lack of "horns" above the eyes, or a "moustache" in the former.

As to the first picture, it certainly looks similar to a fuzzy dwarf (Dendrochirus brachypterus) but I am a little unusre. I have never seen a fuzzy with such clearly defined colours on the body. It may be that it is a rare colour morph of the fuzzy (similar to the yellow ones that go for $200+ in the US). If it is a D. brachypterus (which is the best I can give as an ID, so the above people seem right) then it is a far from common colouration. Sadly I only really know the Pterois and the Dendrochirus genera of lionfish. There are 3 other genera in the subfamily Pteroinae (occasionally raised to a full Family, depending on which taxonomic classification you use).

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

So there is a fish called the "fuzzy dwarf" lionfish right!

At first I though people were telling my pictures were fuzzy, (well they are a little).

Scorpionfish then? My daughter loved the aquarium so much that we bought a year long pass, so I'll go back soon and ask exactly what it is.

SLC

 

[Steven Tarise]

First one is a Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish. Gut feeling says that it is a small one, measuring around 1 inch. Second picture I would say is a Leafy Scorpionfish. Not a Frogfish simply based on body shape. As for the Clowns, judging by the banding on the sides, my guess would be A. Percula. Ocellaris tend to have much narrower and neater banding in my experience.

 

[nanocubeking]

#7 is some kind of brook trout. maybe a rainbow trout.