rong Posted October 30, 2010 Report Share Posted October 30, 2010 Limnichthys rendhali - one of the strangest fish I have ever seen or kept. The photos (when I work out how to include them) are close up of the fish in its natural habitat. It is about 9cm long with chameleon type eyes revolving independantly on short turrets. It lives buried just under the sand with just the eyes exposed and is essentially invisible. To photograph it run your hand thru the sand until there is a swirl and something darts away. Try to see where the something goes and disturb it again. After about the fourth attempt it will rest on the sand rather than under it and you can try working out what it is you are looking at. (It took me nearly as long again to find someone at the museum who could identify it.) In the home aquarium it promptly vanished from sight. It only emerged from the sand when I put in live polychaete worms (they swarm at certain times of the year and the fish love them). Other wise there was just the odd occasion when it was buried under the sand next to the glass and I could make an accurate drawing I could take to the museum. The sketch (if I can attach it) is from early notebook sketch. I would be curious to know if any one else knows of it. Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-town... Posted October 30, 2010 Report Share Posted October 30, 2010 google cant find anything with that scientific name? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-town... Posted October 30, 2010 Report Share Posted October 30, 2010 sorry found it. does it look like this Uploaded with ImageShack.us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rong Posted October 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2010 Yes that's it - slightly more brightly coloured in your pic. What do I do to insert my own pics? It lives below the low tide mark, in sandy pockets between boulders. I first found it at about 15m and then later at 2 -3 m. It is so well camouflaged tho - as you will see if I can post my own pics. Ron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted October 30, 2010 Report Share Posted October 30, 2010 Image posting details here... viewtopic.php?t=2406 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted October 30, 2010 Report Share Posted October 30, 2010 viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2406&p=526788&hilit=posting+pics#p526788 snap :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted October 30, 2010 Report Share Posted October 30, 2010 Too slow, old man! A-town's pic is Limnichthys donaldsoni, not rendahli, hence the difference in colour. Ron, there are no pics of rendahli in Fishbase, so you could submit one if you have a good image. http://filaman.ifm-geomar.de/identifica ... &areacode= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rong Posted October 31, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rong Posted October 31, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 I have managed to load a sketch. Those eyes on stalks appear to be able to retract completely when the fish dives into the sand. The mouth is very hard to see unles it is open. There is a red area behind the gills that I presume pumps water over the gills when the mouth is closed, and the fish is under the sand. The photos still dont want to load and yet are less than the 640 pixels required. Will keep trying. Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted October 31, 2010 Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 email me a pic or a link and I will see if I can sort it out for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rong Posted October 31, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rong Posted October 31, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 Success at last. As you can imagine, at a distance of 1m the fish becomes invisible. (Very hard to keep track of when you have to keep returning to the surface while snorkeling). Ron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rong Posted October 31, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 Incidentally when it was described it was the juvenile larval form that was found by poisoning the water in rockpools. Ron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rong Posted October 31, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 Notes from the note book: "Caught early Jan and placed in a mixed fish / shrimp marine tank. A few days later it was lying next to the glass under the sand and I was able to make a sketch. I didn't see it again until late February when I found it on the floor - already dry but still alive! (There were only two small holes in the lid for airline tubes). Needless to say it was a bit sick and lay on the surface of the sand for a couple of hours. Then it began skimmiing around the surface of the tank with a rapid snakelike wriggling of the body. Then another rest on the sand and within half an hour it had vanished again. (2 foot tank). Mid June - I had just put in a load of polychaete worms when the sand in the middle of the tank erupted. I didn't actually see the fish although it must have been just under the surface. Mid August - I saw the sand move - more or less caved in - but I didn't see the fish. 12th Oct - in the evening I put in a load of live crustacea (plankton) and the following day the Limnichtys was on the surface of the sand making lightning darts for the crustacea, thinner, paler, but very active, the eyes moving independantly and no longer shy. (I usually collected the plankton by torch at night so the fish were usually fed at night). Was still visible at 4pm but gone by 10pm when more plankton was added. Was on view again the following morning. 29 Jan - was out hunting again at night. Unfortunately it was dead a few days later - possibly due to the tank getting too warm - it was now the height of summer. So I saw it only 4 times in a whole year. Ron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted October 31, 2010 Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 thanks rong, well done do you still keep our local marines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted October 31, 2010 Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 Sounds like a very interesting fish, the fact that you see it so little would make it more exciting to keep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted October 31, 2010 Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 Mid June - I had just put in a load of polychaete worms when the sand in the middle of the tank erupted. I didn't actually see the fish although it must have been just under the surface. Hmmm... sounds like a horror movie! What was it called, Tremors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rong Posted November 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2010 In reply to Sage - no I don't keep any marine fish now. I originally set up the tank for banded blennies - they are just as beautiful as neon tetras. They are also found below the low tide mark and I ran into the same problem of keeping the tank cool enough in summer. Rock fish and sucker fish are much tougher but there is not much you can keep in the tank with those guys. Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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