Amazing Fish Transformations video, Caribbean Edition

skune · 03/29/2018, 08:52 AM

As aquarium keepers, we often only get to see one phase of a fishes lifespan, and some not at all, because of size. One thing that struck me when I first went out on the reefs was the various phases of fishes, from the juveniles through various sexes and adult fish that I had never seen before. I have made 8 trips to the Caribbean, and have accumulated enough footage to show some of the transformations that we might not always see if we just have them at home in our tanks.
Many fish species undergo remarkable transformations through their lifespan. In this video we look at 5 Caribbean species and observe their changes. First is the Queen Angel that starts out as a colorful little blue and yellow striped juvenile and becomes the magnificent adult queen angel. Next is the Spotted Drum which starts out looking like a black and white striped head with two long ribbons attached. Eventually the "ribbons" shorten into the body and tail, and a high dorsal fin. The adult version is nocturnal, so we only see them early in the morning, or at sunset. It is an abstract combination of stripes and spots and is one of the most striking fish seen on the reef. Next we see the French Angel from the tiny juvenile that sets up a cleaning station to the larger semi-adult that starts losing it's stripes to the huge adults with their yellow-flecked scales and grayish face. Next up is the yellow-head wrasse that begins as a bright yellow-orange female with a neon blue stripe and eventually becomes a male with different patterns and colors. We finish with the stoplight parrotfish as it changes from a female to a male with completely different colors on each version. From the checkerboard pattern on their backs, and bright red undersides of the female to the bright green male.
Please check it out, you might just see something you haven't seen before.
See it here:
https://youtu.be/PvvAzE5WGek

devimik · 04/16/2018, 08:08 PM

Cool video - amazing. Thanks for sharing.

MrsBugmaster · 04/20/2018, 05:19 AM

Fantastic video! Thanks for producing and sharing it!!

pinnatus · 04/20/2018, 06:54 PM

Thanks! I have the jacknife fish but never saw the adult!

sacremon · 04/23/2018, 11:42 AM

Someone needs to make an educational one for Platax pinnatus, perhaps the rest of the Platax species as well, just to show how much different the juveniles are from the adults. As a whole the juveniles are quite different from each other but the adults look very similar to each other.

Maybe less people would buy juvenile P. pinnatus as a result.

Edit: I have no issues with people owning them if they know what they are getting into. I've had a P. orbicularis for six years. P. pinnatus is the species that traditionally gets bought because of the appearance of the juvenile.

skune · 04/30/2018, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinnatus

Thanks! I have the jacknife fish but never saw the adult!

It looks almost exactly like it, but this is the spotted drum. The jacknife juvenile has one less stripe on it's head. I've never seen the adult version of the jacknife, but I imagine it's also similar to the drum, since the juvis are almost identical.

03/29/2018, 08:52 AM	#1
skune Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Myrtle Beach, SC Posts: 179 Blog Entries: 1	Amazing Fish Transformations video, Caribbean Edition As aquarium keepers, we often only get to see one phase of a fishes lifespan, and some not at all, because of size. One thing that struck me when I first went out on the reefs was the various phases of fishes, from the juveniles through various sexes and adult fish that I had never seen before. I have made 8 trips to the Caribbean, and have accumulated enough footage to show some of the transformations that we might not always see if we just have them at home in our tanks. Many fish species undergo remarkable transformations through their lifespan. In this video we look at 5 Caribbean species and observe their changes. First is the Queen Angel that starts out as a colorful little blue and yellow striped juvenile and becomes the magnificent adult queen angel. Next is the Spotted Drum which starts out looking like a black and white striped head with two long ribbons attached. Eventually the "ribbons" shorten into the body and tail, and a high dorsal fin. The adult version is nocturnal, so we only see them early in the morning, or at sunset. It is an abstract combination of stripes and spots and is one of the most striking fish seen on the reef. Next we see the French Angel from the tiny juvenile that sets up a cleaning station to the larger semi-adult that starts losing it's stripes to the huge adults with their yellow-flecked scales and grayish face. Next up is the yellow-head wrasse that begins as a bright yellow-orange female with a neon blue stripe and eventually becomes a male with different patterns and colors. We finish with the stoplight parrotfish as it changes from a female to a male with completely different colors on each version. From the checkerboard pattern on their backs, and bright red undersides of the female to the bright green male. Please check it out, you might just see something you haven't seen before. See it here: https://youtu.be/PvvAzE5WGek __________________ The Fish Nerd Current Tank Info: 125 FOWLR w/38 refugium, 90 Surfline Reef, 29 Macro tank

04/16/2018, 08:08 PM	#2
devimik Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: KC, KS Posts: 637	Cool video - amazing. Thanks for sharing. __________________ Mike D Coral Beauty, Green Filefish, One Spot Foxface, Springeri Dottyback, 2 Ocellaris Clowns, Yellow Watchman Goby, Flame Hawkfish, Spotted Mandarin Current Tank Info: 90g Softie Reef, 150# live rock, 30g sump w/refugium, Tunze Osmolator 3155 ATO, Octopus NWB 150 Skimmer, Mag 950 return, Maxspect 120w Razor 10K LED light X2, BRS Phosphate Reactor; Apex Lite

04/20/2018, 05:19 AM	#3
MrsBugmaster Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Indiana Posts: 182	Fantastic video! Thanks for producing and sharing it!! __________________ Mom of Army Hero 06 20 2011 Never Forgotten / Always Remembered Current Tank Info: Red Sea Reefer 170, my reef tank. 180 gal FOWLR tank

04/20/2018, 06:54 PM	#4
pinnatus RIP Ludinano Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Baton Rouge, LA Posts: 1,572	Thanks! I have the jacknife fish but never saw the adult! __________________ - Ken Current Tank Info: 240 gal Fish-Only, 13-gal w/ clowns

04/23/2018, 11:42 AM	#5
sacremon Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Atlanta Posts: 446 Blog Entries: 29	Someone needs to make an educational one for Platax pinnatus, perhaps the rest of the Platax species as well, just to show how much different the juveniles are from the adults. As a whole the juveniles are quite different from each other but the adults look very similar to each other. Maybe less people would buy juvenile P. pinnatus as a result. Edit: I have no issues with people owning them if they know what they are getting into. I've had a P. orbicularis for six years. P. pinnatus is the species that traditionally gets bought because of the appearance of the juvenile. __________________ 300DD, MRC MR-3 skimmer with dual Becketts, two Reefbreeders.com value LED fixtures, MRC fluidized reactor with GFO & GAC.