Ancient Fish

[dthoffsett]

An Indonesian fisherman caught a coelacanth, here's an article about it. Wonder what the recommended tank size would be? I'm sure CFC has one stashed somewhere!

Actually, from what I read, if they aren't kept at a depth of 200ft (60meters) or more they'll die in a few hours.

http/news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070521/od_uk_...JKsL.Pft28Z.3QA

 

[*Fishkies*]

That is quite interesting. Hopefully there are more like it down there though, since that one died!

 

[dthoffsett]

Just though I'd bump it so everyone gets a chance to see it.

 

[jakeroberts]

thats very interesting

 

[kewskills]

i think i remember something about the last one that was caught all those years ago. nice to see their still alive down there somewhere

 

[Miss Wiggle]

interesting, in a way it's a shame we only ever get to find out about these deep sea creatures when their dying, but in a way i like it that there's at least 1 part of this globe we (the human race) haven't been able to destroy just yet!

 

[OohFeeshy]

Apparently they're delicious.

 

[dthoffsett]

Apparently they're delicious.

 

[kpintheshed]

thats very interesting i'm going to google and learn more about this ancient it thanks

 

[PoPoV]

See now this just makes me sick. we have fish out their that are pretty much gone. And yet some fisherman is still pulling them out. Now I understand he was not fishing for this fish in general. But if i am trout fishing and i pull a dinosaur out of the water im not going to take it home. Poor little guy.

 

[Nevergone815]

interesting, in a way it's a shame we only ever get to find out about these deep sea creatures when their dying, but in a way i like it that there's at least 1 part of this globe we (the human race) haven't been able to destroy just yet!

Couldn't have been said any better. Amen!

 

[Teelie]

Some of you are just downright pessimistic and hypocritical.

 

[Nevergone815]

Some of you are just downright pessimistic and hypocritical.

How so?

 

[andywg]

See now this just makes me sick. we have fish out their that are pretty much gone. And yet some fisherman is still pulling them out. Now I understand he was not fishing for this fish in general. But if i am trout fishing and i pull a dinosaur out of the water im not going to take it home. Poor little guy.

This is a deep water fish that normally lives from 90 to 200 metres down but is found as far down as 700m. That would mean it is designed to live with ambient pressure at 10 to 21 Bar. It is not designed to be in the shallower waters where most fishing lines would reach to, and certainly is not going to feel happy at being pulled out into 1 Bar air.

The biggest proportional pressure drop will be in the last 10 metres, which is when the fisherman is likely to already have the fish hooked and reeling in as fast as possible. The fact that the fish was brought to the surface means it was almost certainly doomed (unless someone had a water filled pressure chamber nearby), and if not it would have been blinded by the light (they don't even come out of their caves on nights with full moons as their eyes are so sensitive to see in the dark).

 

[Birdie]

See now this just makes me sick. we have fish out their that are pretty much gone. And yet some fisherman is still pulling them out. Now I understand he was not fishing for this fish in general. But if i am trout fishing and i pull a dinosaur out of the water im not going to take it home. Poor little guy.

Why does it make you sick? He is a fisherman. He went fishing . He caught a fish. He didn't recognise it, so he took it home - possibly because he saw it was unusual and interesting, possibly because he thought it might have some value (he probably isn't very rich). Added to which he could probably see it was, to say the least, sick. Actually, I wonder why it was far enough towards the surface that it was caught in the first place - quite possibly not too healthy. Had he thrown it straight back, it wouldn't have survived, I don't think, having had such a gross, although accidental, insult to it's barometric well-being. Not only that, but when someone told him that it was actually rare, he did the best he could for it - took it to a quarantine pool in the sea. I imagine there are a whole stream of scintists who will be only too delighted to study such a rarely-seen specimen.

So, bearing in mind that he didn't know what it was, and throwing it straight back wouldn't have saved it - what do you think he should have done?