The Porkfish which originates from the Western Atlantic has a yellow head and fins accenting a silver-gray base with two black vertical stripes. They are a peaceful fish that make a wonderful addition to a peaceful saltwater fish only aquarium.

A 75 gallon or larger aquarium with abundant open space to swim is required. Several Porkfish, in a school, would be suitable if there is enough room in the aquarium. It prefers to hover around reefs and needs a cave or ledge for refuge. The Porkfish has been known to occasionally pick parasites from the bodies of tank mates. Do not house the Porkfish with aggressive species, and adults should be the first to be introduced into a community tank. They are not a good candidate for a reef aquarium, as they will readily consume any crabs, snails, shrimp and starfish.

The Porkfish diet consists of a variety of meaty foods such as chopped shrimp, marine fish flesh, prepared frozen food for carnivores, and vegetable matter.

Quick Stats:
Minimum Tank Size: 70 gallons
Care Level: Easy
Temperament: Peaceful
Reef Compatible: No
Water Conditions: 72-78° F, sg 1.020-1.025, pH 8.1-8.4, dKH 8-12
Max. Size: 1′
Color Form: Black, Orange, White, Yellow
Diet: Omnivore
Origin: Caribbean
Family: Haemulidae

Note: This profile is currently incomplete. Description and/or images are temporarily taken from LiveAquaria and will be replaced shortly. If you are interested in writing a new description, please contact me at info@myfishtank.net. If you have any experience with this particular fish, please leave a comment below and share with us.

Monster crab with claws the size of a man’s hand captured off the British coast

It lurked in the wreck of an old battleship 160ft below the surface – a true monster of the deep.Diver Paul Worsley could hardly believe the size of the giant crab he found in Lyme Bay, off the Dorset coast. Careful to avoid its fearsome claws, he managed to get it into a bag and raise it to the surface.

For his efforts, he can congratulate himself on capturing what experts believe is the biggest edible crab ever landed. It weighed 17lb and had a shell width of 12in while each of its massive claws was as big as a man’s hand.The previous largest edible crab on record is in the collection of the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris. Its carapace was 11in wide.

Mr Worsley, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, said: ‘I couldn’t believe it when I saw it.’

Andy Horton founder of the British Marine Life Study Society, said: ‘If anyone has found a bigger one could they let us know?’Unfortunately, Mr Worsley’s crab will not be displayed in any museum. A friend has eaten it.

source: dailymail.co.uk.

An outbreak of blue-green algae is seen on the coastline of Qingdao, the host city for sailing events at the 2008 Olympic Games, in eastern China’s Shandong province Tuesday June 24, 2008. The Qingdao government has organized 400 boats and 3000 people to help remove the algae after Olympic organizers ordered a cleanup. Experts say the algae is a result of climate change, and recent heavy rains in southern China, according to the Xinhua news agency.

See more pictures here….

A stunning picture of stingray migration. Anyone know more about it? And I thought I’ve seen it all on Planet Earth DVD’s.

After setting the mood with lighting and finessing, the Georgia Aquarium’s attempts to coax rare sea dragons to mate have finally worked — just in time for Father’s Day. The pregnant male weedy sea dragon is now only the third of its kind in the United States to successfully become pregnant outside of its natural habitat.

The sea dragon, found in nature only in the waters off southern Australia, became pregnant Tuesday when a female transferred her eggs onto his tail. Dennis Christen, assistant manager of animal care and husbandry, said that male sea horses, sea dragons and pipe fish all carry the eggs instead of the female.

Christen said that recently the staff took steps to try to assist in mating. They altered the mood by adjusting the lighting and thinning the plants, Christen said.

But so much is unknown about the creatures, including their mating routines, that a lot about the pregnancy remains a mystery, Christen said.

When the animals finally do mate, the sea dragons arch their tails and swim side by side until they latch onto each other before swimming vertically together during their version of a “date.”

“When they’re courting they do a really ritualistic dance,” he said.

What little is known about that dance could hold a key to problems with breeding the animals in small tanks similar to those at the aquarium.

“Some people think that problems are if the tank isn’t deep enough they don’t have enough time to swim vertically,” Christen said.

Of the 70 small pink eggs wrapped around the male’s tail, nobody knows how many are viable and could actually hatch. Christen said that they are relying on other experiences with breeding, where about 60 percent of the eggs survived, to estimate how things may go. At the Georgia Aquarium, children and teachers were abuzz about the pregnant dragon and circled around the tank trying to pick it out.

“Which one is the mommy?” one little boy shouted before a guide corrected him and said the male was carrying the eggs.

When the eggs hatch, Christen said they will essentially be miniature versions of the adults. And unlike many animals the weedy sea dragons will not spend their first days, weeks and months shadowing their parents to learn.

“They basically hatch and are on their own,” he said. “There’s no real parental training.”

The eggs are expected to hatch in four to six weeks

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