Top 10 most bizarre ornamental fish

Fish leap in the abyss in various shapes and forms, some swimming in the clear waves, some lurking under the water. The ancients said: "The river water is three thousand, clear all year round, and fish and birds are happy together." However, in today's world, fish are even more bizarre and amazing. Nowadays, there are a wide variety of ornamental fish on the market, some of which are loved by fish lovers, some are rare like treasures, and some are weird in shape, which makes people laugh. 

This article will collect ten kinds of strange fish, presenting the world like "kite flying and fish leaping", and count the most peculiar ones: four-eyed fish, long-fingered threadfin bream, kissing fish, spray-point swallow fish, Mark toast fish, electric eel, fire-breathing fish, ancient butterfly, sucker fish, mirror fish, all of which are wonders, and can be called fish aliens.

1. Four-eyed fish

The four-eyed fish is a small fish that lives in the rivers of Central and South America. It is eye-catching for its unique eyes. Its eyes are shaped like frog eyes, protruding high on the top of the head, and its structure is very unique. 

Although the four-eyed fish actually has only two eyes, the middle part of each eye is divided into upper and lower parts by a black horizontal line, and the pupil and lens are also divided, making it look like it has four eyes, hence the name "four-eyed fish". The most special thing about it is that it likes to expose its eyes above the water when swimming to observe the environment on the water surface.

It seems to be curious about the outside world. Such behavior is rare in other fish.

2. Long-fingered Threadfin

The body color of the long-fingered threadfin is silver-gray, and it mainly feeds on crustaceans and small fish. It has slender fins on its abdomen, which serve as tactile tools for sensing the surrounding environment and finding food. The pectoral fins of the long-fingered threadfin are composed of two different parts, the lower part has many slender and powerful silk-like fin rays, as if it is a "Thousand-handed Guanyin", which is also its most unique feature. 

These silk-like fin rays are numerous, like whiskers and body hairs, and some are even longer than its body. Only the long-fingered threadfin can experience its flexibility when moving.

3. Kissing fish

Kissing fish, also known as kissing perch, is usually milky white or light pink, and sometimes silver gray, blue-green and white can be seen. It swims very slowly, but it looks elegant and extraordinary, full of charming charm and ornamental value. Kissing fish can be said to be the most intimate behavior of all fish. 

Whether it is with the same sex or the opposite sex, they like to "kiss" with their lips tightly pressed together. Unless disturbed, it is difficult to separate. Therefore, the kissing fish got its name, and it also symbolizes the longevity and permanence of love.

 
4. Spraying swallow fish

Spraying swallow fish, also known as hatchet fish. It is an ornamental fish with a very unique body shape and habits. Its abdomen is abnormally thick and out of proportion with other parts of the body, like an axe. At first glance, it is hard not to doubt whether it is deformed. In addition, its pectoral fins are relatively large, and it may accidentally jump out of the water when swimming in the fish tank, regardless of life or death. 

Some people believe that there are two main reasons why they like to jump out of the water: one is to avoid natural enemies, and the other is to catch insects on the water surface. However, this behavior is not common in the fish tank environment.

5. Mark toast fish

Mark toast fish is a small predatory ornamental fish that is relatively rare in the market. It is mainly distributed in the Guiana to Brazil basin of the Amazon River in South America. Although this fish is known for its ferocity, its personality is quite unique. For captured prey, they prefer to tear it apart rather than simply peck at it. 

They often torture the prey to death, then start to eat the eyes and scales from the head until all the scales of the prey are eaten away, leaving the body to float in the water. The habit of not being a vegetarian is understandable, but it is really ridiculous that they insist on eating those hard fish scales when there is fresh meat in front of them.

6. Electric eel

The muscles on both sides of the electric eel's tail are composed of 6,000 to 10,000 regularly arranged muscle sheets, which are separated by connective tissue and have many nerves connected to the central nervous system. Each muscle sheet is like a small battery, which can generate a voltage of about 150 millivolts. However, when nearly 10,000 "small batteries" are connected in series, they can generate a strong voltage of up to 800 volts, which is enough to make people lose consciousness. 

What's more interesting is that although the electric eel has this amazing discharge ability, its body is full of defects and fatal weaknesses. It moves very slowly, has a short digestive tract, has no teeth, lacks dorsal and ventral fins, has degenerated tail fins, and has degenerated eyes, which is in sharp contrast to its powerful image.

7. Fire-breathing fish

Fire-breathing fish usually obtain phosphorus-rich organic matter through food and store it in its body. Whenever it faces a threat, it will release these organic matter. Because phosphorus is flammable, fire-breathing fish can spray flames several times its own length to attack enemies, which is one of the reasons why people like fire-breathing fish. However, this strange ability is actually produced in this way. 

Fire-breathing fish particularly like to prey on ostracods. When it swallows ostracods, special glands will secrete liquid containing luciferin and luciferase. The mixture of the two will emit a blue cold light. In order to protect itself, the fire-breathing fish spits out the ostracods, forming a similar "fire-breathing" effect.

8. Ancient Butterfly Fish

Ancient butterfly fish, only one species has been discovered so far, native to western Africa, and has now become one of the popular ornamental fish. Strictly speaking, the appearance of ancient butterfly fish is not particularly eye-catching, and it is not even amazing. Their uniqueness lies in their ability to fly. 

Their strong tails allow them to jump out of the water, and their well-developed wing-like pectoral fins allow them to glide on the water, as free as birds. When encountering insects for prey, they can also jump out of the water in an instant and glide for a short chase. As a flying fish, the ancient butterfly fish is rare. Even though it is strange, its strength should not be underestimated.

9. Sucker fish

The head of the sucker fish is flat, gradually transitioning to a cylindrical shape backwards. The sucker on the top evolved from the first dorsal fin allows it to cling tightly to the bottom of the ship or other large fish and turtles. It is found in all major oceans of the world. They mainly feed on other fish and invertebrates. 

When swimming to waters rich in bait, the sucker fish will temporarily leave the host, ingest food, and then attach to a new host and continue to travel to new waters. As an extremely rare fish with a sucker, and also a fish that can "hitch a ride", the sucker fish can be said to be the "laziest" representative of the fish world.

10. Mirror fish

In an Algerian fishing village near the Mediterranean Sea, almost every girl has a mirror for dressing up. This mirror has a delicate curved handle, and the mirror surface is clean and transparent, which can clearly reflect a person's face. However, this is not an ordinary mirror, but a hard dried fish. 

The curved handle corresponds to the tail of the fish, the back of the mirror is made of fish scales, and the glittering mirror surface is the belly of the fish. Therefore, the locals call it the mirror fish. The living mirror fish is huge, with a smooth and shiny surface, but the scales are very rare, only on both sides of the fins and the middle part near the tail, and there are only three scales. If it had more scales, it might not need to be made into a mirror.

The top ten most bizarre ornamental fish are mainly based on the physiological characteristics or living habits of different types of ornamental fish. The content is for reference and entertainment only. If you have any questions, please comment/communicate at the end.

animal tags： Ornamental-fish