Odd fish

[Yano]

I was at South Padre Island and the beach I was at is kinda a private area for people staying at beach houses, so there was a lot of crabs and what not running around. Well I was walking along the shore and I was a plant 'jumping' I looked at it closer and it was a fish! I have looked around websites trying to find out what kind of fish it was, does anyone here know? I was about 4 inches long, and it looked just like the plant material that washes up on the beach.

[Yano]

it was not, it kinda looked like a puffer fish in a way.

[Yano]

Andrew figured it out, it was a sargassum fish. Here is a pic http://www.thejump.net/id/sargassum-fish.htm I fed him some shrimp, he liked that alot :-D He was a neat little guy, I think I will buy one.

[Isis]

So what happened to the fish?

[Yano]

Well I took him out into the water, but the waves kept on pushing him back onto the shore(I gusse he could not handle the currents) So I got a big bucket (I'm starting a new SW aquarium) and put him in there with a few more shrimp, he did fine for the first 3 days but died on the fourth :cry:

[Tim Marvin]

I beleive sea dragons are from Australia, as far as I know that is the only place.

[Jimnorris]

I know that alot of the sea dragons in the Dallas Aquarium are from the Lord Islands area.
Jim

[Charley]

The sargassum I have seems to like freshwater prawns and feeder guppies. He and a dwarf lion share quite well. I think I have had him for a few weeks. Did not eat at first until I realized he was with too many aggressive fishes.

Charley

[Tim Marvin]

Jim, is that Lord Howe Islands? If so it is off the coast of Australia. According to my book on seahorses, pipefish, and their relatives they are only found in Australia and the island near there. It is a comprehensive guide to syngnathiformes by Rudie H. Kuiter, interesting book my wife picked up at the Dallas World Aquarium. Very in depth as far as regions, mating, brood sizes, and they can live 10 years in captivity! There is a huge breeding facility in Victoria Australia.

[MikeP]

Lord Howe Island has the southernmost coral reefs in the world as far as I know. A lot of really cool fish to be found there that occur no where else in the world! It's kind of borderline between tropical and temperate water.

I have never heard of sea dragons from anywhere other than Australia also. They have started to captive breed them primarily for research and public aquarium displays.