All About Aglantis

Could you give us a tour of the Aglantis residents?

Sure thing! First we have to talk about our mascot, E. Crab Gill, a maroon and white calico crab. When we first set up Aglanits we held a naming contest, and some punny Aggies thought he should be named in honor of the 12th Man, E. King Gill. And we agreed! These crabs can be found in the Gulf of Mexico and all through the shallow waters of the Western Atlantic. 

There is our pinfish, Chompers. Pinfish are a common baitfish species that can be found along the shallow waters of the gulf coast. They are vital to the fishing industry and ecosystem because they are one of the main prey items for sportfish, such as speckled trout, red drum, and grouper. Pinfish begin their lives as carnivores but as they mature they become completely herbivorous.

Calypso is the queen of the tank! Queen angelfish get their names from their “crowns” – a round black and blue spot on the top of their heads. Their coloration provides camouflage among the coral. They start off yellow and turn blue as they age. Juveniles can also be cleaner species for bigger fish, picking parasites off the skin of larger fish to eat. They can be found on coral reefs in tropical climates. They are omnivorous and eat mostly sponges and algae. 

Then there is Cindie, the Caribbean blue tang, which – as the name suggests – are found mostly in Caribbean waters. Juveniles are bright yellow and turn dark blue as they mature. They have a symbiotic relationship with green sea turtles, in which they remove parasites from the turtles’ skin. They also graze on algae and sponges.

Mr. and Mrs. Sharp are orange clownfish. We have a breeding pair who frequently lay eggs. Clownfish are super territorial of their nest and will rarely move from their area. What’s really neat is that after the female lays the eggs, the male becomes the prime caregiver. You can see the male fanning the eggs with his fins to increase the amount of oxygen moving over them, as well as to eat any unfertilized or damaged ones to keep the nesting site clean. Clownfish are all born male, and have the ability to switch their sex but will only do so to become the dominant female. They live in groups of a dominant female (the largest fish), the breeding male, and the rest are sexually immature males. These males can turn into females if the dominant female dies. This is helpful because this way they don’t have to wander off and leave their protective anemone host to look for a female. They have a symbiotic relationship with anemones, which don’t sting them due to their special, protective mucous layer. The anemones protect the clownfish from predators, and the clownfish provides the anemone nutrients in the form of waste, while also scaring off fish that would eat the anemone. 

The royal gammas, Mike and Ike, can be fairly shy and love to hang out around rocky hidey holes and crevices. They often position themselves with their bellies toward a solid substrate, so they can often be seen hovering upside down or at other strange angles. Royal Grammas can be found on Caribbean reefs.

We also have an engineer goby, which is such a fun species, but he likes to hide a lot. They’re called an “engineer goby” because they like to dig tunnels in the sand and under rocks, so you don’t see them too much unless it’s feeding time.

 

Speedy and Sneaky are bluehead wrasses. Juveniles of this species are yellow with a black spot on their dorsal fin. They can be found on the coral reefs of the Caribbean Sea and its adjacent waters (Florida, Bermuda, and the Gulf of Mexico). This species has an interesting mating system, which is why it is one of the best studied reef fish on Caribbean reefs. They reproduce through broadcast spawning, where females release eggs and males release the sperm into the water column simultaneously. Like the clownfish, this species has the ability to change sex. 

Spirit is our yellow tang. Tangs are also called surgeonfish because of the scalpel-like spines along the top and bottom of their bodies. These fish have a sharp and venomous spine at the base of their caudal fin, or tail fin, to protect themselves from predators. This species’ diet consists primarily of algae. It also eats macroalgae such as seaweed and occasionally types of zooplankton. They play a crucial role in coral reef ecosystems by preventing algae from overtaking corals. They can be found in the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Hawaii as well as off the Coast of Florida in the Western Atlantic. 

We have 2 fox faces, which are these yellow fish with black spots. These guys are great algae eaters! They live in reefs and lagoons in the tropical west pacific. This species has venomous spines along its dorsal fins that protect it from predators. 

S'mores is a chocolate chip sea star. You might know these guys as starfish, but they aren’t fish at all! Fish have backbones, which make them vertebrates, just like us! Sea stars, like urchins and sand dollars, do not have backbones, which make them a part of a group called “invertebrates.” This species gets its name from the chocolate chip-like spines on its back. These spines are used to deter potential predators. Like all sea stars, chocolate chip sea stars can regenerate lost limbs as long as its central disc is intact.

We also have some sea urchins. Our pincushion urchins are great because they eat algae, which we do not want in the tank. The pincushion urchins like to find empty shells and wear them as a way to protect themselves from predators (although there aren’t any here in Aglantis).  The pencil urchins have much thicker spines and use them to wedge themselves into rock crevices.