Benny the Blenny aka the 'fish with antlers'/The Christmas Tree Fish
The fish that blogs from under the sea!
I was very amused when I saw these two young tompot blennies (2 cm long) having a play fight, a bit like wolf cubs sorting out their pecking order. You’d think that at their size they should keep hidden away safe from predators. But no, they’re more interested in fighting out in the open!
Take a look at the video here! vimeo.com
What’s this? A little tompot blenny (2cm long) is swimming along the ledge in front of my home. He has just settled out of the plankton having developed from a nearly transparent fish larva into a young tompot blenny. He must have been from an early hatching around the end of June and has spent the last 2 months munching his way in the plankton. Can you see from the video that he is not at all bothered by me watching him? Quite a cheeky little show off, could he be a mini me?
Here’s the link to the video! Hope you enjoy it! vimeo.com
I’m thinking about my babies (tompot blenny larvae) swimming, eating and developing in the plankton, I hope they are OK.
It reminded me of this excellent video called ‘The Power of Plankton’ from SAHFOS* which promotes the importance of plankton – the amazing drifting part of my underwater world.
Did you know that the PLANT PLANKTON (phytoplankton) PRODUCES almost 50% of the WORLD’S OXYGEN? That’s one of the reasons why caring for our seas is so important!
By watching the video I also learnt that my babies are classed as MEROPLANKTON, along with the eggs, larvae and juveniles of many different types of fish. This also includes the young stages of other marine animals such as barnacles, crabs, starfish and sea anemones.
You can watch this video and learn all about these things for yourself here: wtru.st
Many thanks to SAHFOS *Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science www.sahfos.ac.uk for producing ‘The Power of the Plankton’ video.