Coral reef fish

Coral reef fish are fish which live amongst or in close relation to coral reefs. Coral reefs form complex ecosystems with tremendous biodiversity. Among the myriad inhabitants, the fish stand out as colourful and interesting to watch. Hundreds of species can exist in a small area of a healthy reef, many of them hidden or well camouflaged. Reef fish have developed many ingenious specialisations adapted to survival on the reefs.Most coral reef fish have spines in their fins like this damselfish.The usually placid yellow tang can erect spines in its tail and slash at its opponent with rapid sideways movements.Among goby species, small coral reef-dwelling fishes, is the world's shortest lived vertebrate, the seven-figure pygmy goby, which lives for less than 60 days.The slowest-moving fishes are the sea horses, often found in reefs. The slowest of these, the dwarf seahorse, attains about five feet per hour.Toadfish often inhabit reefs. Male toadfish 'sing' at up to 100 decibels with their swim bladders to attract mates.The foureye butterflyfish has false eyes on its back end, confusing predators about which is the front end of the fish.The frogfish is an ambush predator disguised to look like an algae-covered stoneAnother ambush predator is the tassled scorpionfish camouflaged to look like part of a coral encrusted sea floor.Gobies are very cautious, yet they can fail to see a tassled scorpionfish until it is too late.Adult coral trout hunt a variety of reef fish, particularly damselfish, while their juveniles mostly eat crustaceans such as prawns.Bluestripe snapper will eat just about anything.Yellowfin goatfish change their colouration so they can school with the blue-striped snapper.Coral grouper sometimes cooperate with giant morays in hunting.Many small reef fishes gain advantages by schooling.Cardinalfish swim in schools for protection against trevally.Bigeye trevally hunt cardinalfish in packs and herd them against the reef. When the cardinalfish panic and break school formation, the trevally pick them off.Porcupinefish inflate themselves by swallowing water or air, which restricts potential predators to those with bigger mouths.The Emperor angelfish feeds on coral sponges.The titan triggerfish followed by small orange-lined triggerfish and moorish idol that feed on leftovers.Two small cleaner wrasses servicing a larger fish at a cleaning stationThe reef lizardfish secretes a mucus coating which reduces drag when they swim. But some parasites find the mucus good to eat.Relatively defenceless parrotfish feed on algae.Ferocious barracuda prey in schools on parrotfish.Coral rabbitfish have venomous spines which they erect if threatened.Schooling spinefoot rabbitfish are often joined by defenceless parrotfish.The tentacles of sea anemones bristle with tiny toxic harpoons.Saddle butterflyfish are resistant to the sea anemone toxin.Yellowtail clownfish with sea anemoneCommon clownfish guarding their sea anemone homeThe most venomous known fish is the reef stonefish.The spotted trunkfish secretes a ciguatera toxin from glands on its skin.Like many other apex reef fish, the giant moray can cause ciguatera poisoning if eaten.The stargazer buries itself in sand and can deliver electric shocks as well as venom.' ...shows microhabitat separation from the blacktip reef sharks; around islands where both species occur, the blacktip occupies shallow flats, while the grey reef shark is usually found in deeper areas, but where the blacktip is absent, the grey reef shark is commonly found on the flats... complements the whitetip shark as it is far more adapt at catching off-bottom fish than the whitetip, but the later is far more competent in extracting prey from crevices and holes in reefs.'The great hammerhead uses its hammer both to locate electrical signatures of stingrays buried in the sand and to pin them down. Coral reef fish are fish which live amongst or in close relation to coral reefs. Coral reefs form complex ecosystems with tremendous biodiversity. Among the myriad inhabitants, the fish stand out as colourful and interesting to watch. Hundreds of species can exist in a small area of a healthy reef, many of them hidden or well camouflaged. Reef fish have developed many ingenious specialisations adapted to survival on the reefs.