A comprehensive guide to fish
Plesiops corallicola
Plesiops corallicola
Introduction
In 2007 while filming some fish at my local
aquarium store for a web site I came across this
fish. At the time I had no idea what it was and to
be honest I found it to be a little boring so I
passed it by. After
getting all the clips I needed I was ready to pack
up and go home but I had just a few minutes of
battery life left in my camcorder and so I had a
quick look around and I came back to this fish which
unusually seemed to spend its time "stood" on it's
pelvic fins and seemed to be able to turn its neck
in order to look around, so I used my last bit of
battery life to film a forty odd second clip before
my camcorder stopped. To be
honest I didn't really think much of the fish or the
clip - which I filmed with the zoom rather than walk
back to the tank, but I posted it along with the
other clips taken that day and for some reason which
I still can't work out, the clip attracts many times
more views than all the rest of my clips put
together. Today
the clip is one of the most popular animal clips on
YouTube with well over six million view and still
rising.
Not bad for a little grey anonymous looking fish. A lot of
mythology has built up around the fish and the clip
since I posted it, everything from it being a
robotic fish or worked with connecting wires to CGI
visual effects. The truth is far less glamorous I'm
afraid. So here is the truth about the real fish
named Plesiops corallicola. For those who still aren't convinced
After reading this page, here are some
links which prove this is a real fish and that no
trickery is involved.
Not forgetting the many copies of my original clip which seem to be all over the web. If you still aren't convinced then you're simply to much of a skeptic to believe anything.
Classification:
Class - Actinopterygii | Order -
Perciformes | Family - Plesiopidae | Sub family -
Plesiopinae
Scientific name:
Plesiops corallicola.
Synonym:
Plesiops nigricans.
Common names:
Bluegill longfin, Ocellated prettyfin, Redspined
devilfish
Size:
16cms (6.5inches).
Distribution:
Indo-Pacific: Madagascar to the Line Islands; north
to southern Japan, south to the southern Great
Barrier Reef and Tonga. Throughout Micronesia.
Environment:
Marine (salt water) only. It is found in shallow
water around reefs from 1 to 20 metres deep. Usually
remains hidden during the daytime but ventures out
at night to look for food on the floor and among
stones around the reef.
Food items:
Gastropods (sea snails and sea slugs) form an
important part of the diet, small fish and
crustaceans (crabs, shrimps and prawns) are also
taken.
Aquarium care:
Although not as pretty as some of it's marine
counterparts a Plesiops corallicola has loads of
character and offers something a little different
from the norm. This fish can be kept in tropical
marine community set up with all the usual
parameters, other fish which are to large to be
considered as food will be tolerated, small fish may
be eaten. Various inverts such as shrimps and small
crabs will also be considered as food but corals
should be safe. Plesiops corallicola are generally
quite secretive and need somewhere to hide during
the day, if forced to live out in the open they are
likely to become stressed which may eventually
affect their health.
They will eat a range of frozen marine food such as
shellfish, shrimps ect.
The clip: