FAAS Publication Awards Form Rev 1-2013 Author Stephen Sica Society (NO Abbreviations) Greater City Aquarium Society Category 13. Best Marine Article - Fish Age (Junior Only) Date of Publication October, 2012 Title of Publication (NO Abbreviations) Modern Aquarium Title of Article My Favorite Marine Fish: The Peacock Flounder Not-for-profit aquarium societies are hereby granted permission to reproduce Enter your official articles and illustrations from this publication, unless the article indicates that the copyrights have been retained by the author, and provided reprints indicate reprint policy for your Reprint Policy source and two copies of the publication are sent to the Exchange Editor of this publication. magazine. Any other reproduction or commercial use of the material in this publication is prohibited without express written prior permission. Address per your Reprint Policy above: Stephen Sica, Exchange Editor Address Information Modern Aquarium Award certificates should all go to the same address. 80-40 223 Street Hollis Hills, NY 11427-1223 Contact Email Address Editor or person who submits the entry OK to type in your Signature Dan Radebaugh DR signature & initials. My Favorite Marine Fish: The Peacock Flounder Story and Photos by Stephen Sica nce in a blue moon while diving, semi- a specimen, it’s been busy blending itself into pun intended, I would come upon one of a rock, or more typically, sand or mud. I am Omy all-time favorite fish—the peacock disappointed to admit that there’d been nary a flounder, Bothus lunatus. This fish is better blue to be found on any peacock flounder that known by me as the blue peacock flounder. I had ever seen. While my wife Donna will often scan the deep In the spring of 2012 we decided to treat blue sea for large pelagics, I swim along the ourselves to a pre-summer cruise. Donna shallows, seeking the small creatures and micro researched Princess Cruises and found that photographic subjects hidden in crevices on the one of their ships would be sailing a southern bottom and in the sand. Diving a Caribbean Caribbean agenda. It was scheduled to leave island, or even some other location, it would from San Juan at the end of April, before always please me if I could find and photograph transitioning to the British Isles for the summer. this flounder. The itinerary would take us to St. Martin/ I’m someone who is attracted to colorful Maarten, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Bonaire and fish, or fish that have a unique appearance, Aruba. We had previously visited these islands or both. It is an understatement when I say within the past few years by either cruise ship that the blue marks, spots and circles that or air, except for Saint Lucia, that we last had embellish this flounder never fail to delight set foot upon in the 1980s. Donna went to work me! Unfortunately, every time that I’ve found on her computer with diligence, and was able Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY) October 2012 15 It can lighten or darken to match the bottom where it dwells. Of course, what distinguishes the peacock from similar flounders are the blue spots and marks on its body and fins. Other flounders’ spots are more tan or brownish. I photographed my discovery, but it began to swim, or rather glide away, close to the bottom. I took a few additional photos as it was swimming, but when it rested on the bottom again a few yards away, I hovered above it and took more photos. Throughout this encounter, the fish retained the most vivid blue color that The peacock flounder does its best to avoid predators by being I have ever witnessed in this species. I assume a “background” fish, and disappearing into its surroundings through its skill at camouflage. Occasionally, when one has been that the fish was relying on its camouflage to pointed out to me I would gaze along the fingertip wondering "what am I seeing?" to arrange a diving excursion on each island. We would be diving a different island for five days in a row. I didn’t know if I still had the energy anymore. Inasmuch as we had never dived Saint Lucia, I readily acquiesced to her plans. Besides, I would be able to seek more lionfish encounters. Perhaps other adventures might even come our way. I approached the flounder and it began to slowly swim away settling on the bottom occasionally as I followed and photographed it. keep me at bay, because it was swimming in the open at a leisurely pace, albeit close to the bottom. To avoid detection, flounders that I have observed in nature either just swim away, or partially bury themselves in the sand or mud, or, most likely, settle on the bottom and simply blend in to disappear. Further up the coast, during our second A flounder in its habitat. It was easy to spot because it was exhibiting its blue coloration. dive, at a location named “The Nursery,” I The third day of our cruise found us swimming in about fifteen feet of water only fifty feet from a rocky shoreline at “Anse Cochon” (Bay of Pigs) North on the island of Saint Lucia. While waiting for the remaining divers to enter the water, I began swimming underwater with Donna and another diver near the rocky shoreline. After only a minute, I glanced down and gazed at the most colorful and attractive peacock flounder that I had ever seen! Although considered highly edible by many seafood connoisseurs, I would never eat I spotted another flounder during our second dive in Saint Lucia. one; they are just too beautiful. The typical It was blue enough to make it readily observable. I took several peacock flounder is shades of tan to brown. photos as it attempted to blend into the sand. 16 October 2012 Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY) found another peacock flounder. This one These fish inhabit the shallows, from only was smaller, and its blue color was somewhat two or three feet of water to a maximum depth faded into camouflage, but it was still an of forty feet. They live near sand, coral rubble, attractive specimen. I was able to take a few and sea grass areas, and eat crustaceans and other photos before it swam away with a very slight small animals living in the sand. Occasionally wave-like motion. Flounder do not swim they will add small fish to their menu. As with a pronounced undulating motion; they with most animals, flounders eat whatever swim smoothly and is available. The patiently. peacock flounder is There are common in Florida, numerous flounders the Bahamas, and worldwide, with at the Caribbean. It least sixteen species, is also found in including soles and Bermuda, and all the tonguefishes, that way south to Brazil. are common to the I believe that they general Caribbean may be even more area. Caribbean soles common in the and tonguefishes are southern Caribbean. quite small, reaching The June 2012 lengths of between issue of Aquarium one to three inches. Finally, it settled in and would have been obscure except for the turquoise Fish International I have never seen ringlets and marks on its body and fins. contains Scott either of these fish, perhaps because of their W. Michael’s “Marine Sand-dwellers.” He small size. Someday, I hope to encounter a states that soles are the most likely flatfish to sole, and especially a tonguefish. be encountered in the marine aquarium trade. As you probably know, all flatfishes begin The soles pictured and mentioned in Michael’s their lives symmetrically. That is, they have article seem, in my opinion, to be flounders. bilateral, fish-shaped bodies with correctly In any event, Michael states that soles will aligned fins, and one eye on each side of their acclimate to captivity if provided with a sandy body. Within a few days after hatching, one substrate in which to bury themselves, and are eye migrates to be beside the other eye, on the initially fed live foods, such as ghost shrimp other side of the body, while their muscles, skin, that have been acclimated to saltwater, as well blood vessels, and bones slowly shift as well. as blackworms and/or bloodworms. None of Flounders are flat fish that lie on their sides, not these live long in salt water. Soles should not their stomachs. The size of this fish is between be kept with aggressive fish, because they are six to fifteen inches, with a maximum length of slow, methodical hunters, and might be picked eighteen inches. All peacock flounders that I on. More than one can be kept in the same have observed have been between six and nine tank, but be prepared to separate them if they inches. This fish has a slight indentation, or fight. They are not prone to skin parasites, nor notch, in its “upper” head above its lips. There are they overly sensitive to poor water quality. are numerous blue rosettes over its entire body, Some soles exude a toxic slime that will keep and abundant blue spots and short lines on its aggressive fish away. head and fins. The eyes of flounders protrude, I don’t know of anyone keeping a sole or so that it seems like they are on short stalks. flounder in a marine aquarium. If someone has, The pectoral fin sits just beyond the gills, and I’m sure that it would be a good story for this when extended it stands erect and is noticeable. publication.