Fishy Fish

Some fish are just not normal. At least not normal in the sense of the goldfish doing circles in your fishbowl, or the baked salmon on your table, or the trout nibbling on your bait.

Consider for example the Cleaner Wrasse. This little fish survives off of parasites and dead skin which it picks off larger fish. Larger fish and even fish nearly the same size as the wrasse take advantage of this service sometimes by literally getting into an orderly queue among the coral reefs and waiting their turn to be cleaned. Apparently it is a rather absurd process to watch, somewhat reminiscent of lining up to go through a car wash. The Wrasse's place on the reef is so valued by other fish, that it is pretty much immune to predation. A crazy twist to this story is a fish called the Sabre-tooth Blenny. The Sabre-tooth Blenny imitates the Cleaner Wrasse in both its looks and movement, allowing the Blenny protection from predators, and a chance to get close to other fish. The Blenny will then lunge in and use its sabre-teeth to bite off a chunk of flesh!

Another fascinating little fish is the mudskipper. The fish's gills are contained in an enlarged chamber that it fills with water for oxygen exchange to occur. It keeps these chambers full by frequently splashing around in shallow pools. The mudskipper also takes in a small percentage of its oxygen through a mass of tiny blood vessels in the throat and mouth. Unlike other fish which move with the tide, the mudskipper spends most of its time out of water. It interacts with other mudskippers, eats crabs and other small arthropods, and builds little burrows on the mudflats. Sometimes the mudskipper will even climb a little way into trees or bushes. (see picture)

A final abnormal fish is the freshwater hatchetfish. They are so named because they kind of look like a hatchet, with a thin belly dropping far below the rest of their body. They also have really long pectoral fins; in some varieties these fins are long enough to look very much like wings, and they use them for just that. They are generally only a couple of inches long, but some varieties can fly as far as 10 - 12 feet along the surface of the water, eating little insects they catch along the way.

Why did God create such fascinating creatures? I can't possibly know, but I do feel like perhaps God can in some perfect way have fun, or maybe He was just revelling in His awesome creative ability, and making some great creatures for His glory.