Zebra Shark

True Wild Life | Zebra Shark | The zebra shark is a medium-sized species of shark, that is found in the warmer coastal waters and around tropical coral reefs. Zebra sharks are most commonly found in the Indian and South Pacific oceans. Zebra sharks can grow to nearly 3 meters in length and can get to be 30 years old in the wild. Zebra sharks that are kept in captivity generally do not exceed 15 years of age. Zebra sharks can be identified by the yellow spots that are present on the back of the zebra shark.

Zebra sharks have a long, flattened body which helps them to remain unnoticed on the seabed. The zebra shark also has a long tail which allows it to be more agile in the water. Zebra sharks move their tails from side to side when they swim, in an eel-like manner.

Zebra sharks are omnivorous animals but tend to have a more meat-based diet. Zebra sharks feed on small fish, crabs, shrimp, snails and other small invertebrates along with squid and sea snakes which they forage for in the coral reefs.

Due to their relatively large size, zebra sharks have few natural predators as they are fairly dominant predators in their environment. Larger species of shark such as tiger sharks and bull sharks are the main predators of the zebra shark, along with humans who hunt them for their meat and fins. The female zebra shark lays an average of ten large eggs which hatch after an incubation period of around 5 months. The baby zebra sharks are nearly half a meter long when they first hatch.

X-Ray Tetra

True Wild Life | X-Ray Tetra | The X-Ray Tetra is a small species of schooling Fish that is naturally found in the Amazon River's coastal waters in South America. The X-Ray Tetra is also known as the Golden Pristella Tetra and the Water Goldfinch due to the faint golden colouration of their translucent skin. They were first described by Ulrey in 1894 and have since become one of the most popular freshwater Fish kept in artificial aquariums today. Although the X-Ray Tetra is the only known species in it's genus, it is closely related to other small and colourful South American Fish, including the nearly 100 other Tetra species.

The most distinctive feature of the X-Ray Tetra is the translucent layer of skin that covers it's small body, allowing the Fish's backbone to be clearly seen. The scales of the X-Ray Tetra are a silvery-yellowish colour that is very faint, looking almost golden in some lights. The X-Ray Tetra also has a re-tipped tail and strikingly striped dorsal and anal fins that are yellow, black and white in colour. This is a relatively small species of Fish that actually has a bony internal structure known as the Weberian apparatus, which is used in picking up sound waves, and contributes to their acute sense of hearing (this bony structure is also found in many of their relatives). Females are generally slightly larger and rounder than the more slender males, although the two are very similar in appearance.

Like many other small, colourful Fish, the X-Ray Tetra is a schooling species of Fish inhabiting the region between the bottom and middle of the water as a group. They are incredibly peaceful and are often tolerant of the other species that they share their habitats with. The X-Ray Tetra is one of the most adaptable species of Tetra as it is able to inhabit both fresh and brackish water happily, in both acidic and alkaline conditions. It is widely observed that those X-Ray Tetra that are kept in tanks, can change quickly from being peaceful to becoming skittish in the presence of larger, predatory Fish, with the same behaviour known to be displayed if the school size is not big enough.

During the rainy season. the X-Ray Tetra return to the flood-lands to spawn. Unlike many similar Fish who give birth to live young, the female X-Ray Tetra lays between 300 - 400 eggs by scattering them amongst the vegetation (when she is ready to spawn, the see-through skin means that her eggs can also be easily seen). X-Ray Tetra fry begin to hatch as early as 24 hours later, and become free swimming within a few days. Once able to swim, the small and dull white young, are able to find better food sources and soon develop their characteristic adult markings. X-Ray Tetra usually live for three or four years in the wild but can get to older ages in captivity.

Like many other small species of Fish that live in the Amazon River, the X-Ray Tetra is an omnivorous animal whose diet is made up of both animals and plants. X-Ray Tetra primarily hunt Worms, Insects and small Crustaceans that live close to the river bed and their fry tend to feed on Insect larvae. Although they are also known to supplement their diet with aquatic plants, they are predominantly micro-predators that feed on small invertebrates. In artificial communities, X-Ray Tetra need a variety of food sources including Brine Shrimp and Bloodworm alongside the standard flakes and pellets to ensure that they have a fully nutritious diet.

The Weberian apparatus (the bony structure) in the X-Ray Tetra's body works by transmitting sound waves through their vertebrate, that have been received by the swim bladder and are then taken to the inner ear, meaning that the X-Ray Tetra has excellent hearing. The transparency of their skin is thought to be a form of protection as predators find it much harder to spot them (along with their light yellow markings) amongst the dense vegetation, and shimmering water. Not only is the yellowish X-Ray Tetra popular in tanks, but an albino version of the species is also now commonly found in artificial communities worldwide.

Wrasse

True Wild Life | Wrasse | The wrasse is a typically small species of fish, found in the coastal waters of the world's major oceans. The Cleaner wrasse is the most commonly known wrasse species as it is often seen alongside other marine animals, including sharks. There are more than 500 different species of Wrasse found in the shallower coastal waters and coral reefs, of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. Wrasse most commonly inhabit areas that have an abundance of both food and places to hide, making coral reefs and rocky shores the perfect home for the wrasse.

Cleaner wrasse are the most well-known wrasse species as they are often seen going into the mouths of large marine animals in order remove the dead material inside. Cleaner wrasse feed on dead tissues, scales and parasites that lurk inside the mouth of the larger animal, and few are actually eaten by the predator that they are assisting. Wrasse come in a variety of colours and sizes depending on the species of wrasse. Wrasse tend to be relatively small in size, with many species of wrasse being less than 20 cm in length. One species of wrasse however is enormous in comparison, growing to more than 2 meters long.

Wrasse are carnivorous animals that have thick lips with a row of teeth that usually face outwards. The mouth of the wrasse is protractile which means that it is capable of extending forwards. Wrasse feeds on a number of small invertebrates, small fish and food particles in the water. Wrasse are also known to follow large predatory fish, eating the trail of left-overs that it leaves behind it. Due to their small size, wrasse have numerous predators in their natural environment including larger fish, such as lionfish, dogfish and barracuda and wrasse are even eaten by some smaller species of shark.

Wrasse are known to live for a relatively long-time particularly for their small size. Wrasse mate by releasing their eggs and sperm in to the water, which are fertilised and become part of the plankton until they are big enough to join the reef. Female wrasse lay thousands of eggs at at time so the wrasse population numbers are relatively high.

Whale Shark

True Wild Life | Whale Shark | The whale shark is the largest species of fish with some adult whale sharks growing to nearly 50ft long! The whale shark is thought to have developed around 60 million years ago making the whale shark one of the oldest species on Earth today. The whale shark spends it's life swimming through the open oceans in search of fish and squid. Unlike many other species of shark, the whale shark is known to feed on large shoals of tiny fish rather than hunting bigger fish and sea mammals. This makes the whale shark a filter feeder similar to whales and smaller sea animals.

The whale shark inhabits the warm, tropical waters around the equator and despite often being found close to coastlines, the whale shark is also known to dive to depths of up to 700 meters (that over 2,000ft deep). In this part of the ocean, food is more scarce and the whale shark will therefore only venture to such depths if hunting in the shallower waters is not possible. The whale shark is the perfect example of a so-called friendly shark and to date have posed no significant threat to humans (mainly divers). The whale shark is most commonly spotted around the Gulf of Mexico and the Indonesian Islands where the whale sharks have been known to be almost playful towards humans.

Female whale sharks incubate their eggs inside them rather than outside. This means that whale sharks effectively give birth to live young. Inside the female whale shark are hundreds of eggs but only a few actually turn into baby whale sharks. The remaining eggs are thought to be there so that when the whale shark pups hatch, they have something to eat. The female whale shark gives birth to an average litter of 12 whale shark pups that are around 60 cm long.

Whale sharks grow quickly during their first few years and soon the whale shark pups are extremely big and therefore less likely to be hunted by marine predators such as other shark species and killer whales. Whale sharks tend to live for around 60 to 80 years but have been known be more than 100 years old.

Tiger Shark

True Wild Life | Tiger Shark | The tiger shark is the fourth biggest shark in the world and is found in warmer and tropical waters in the Southern Hemisphere. The tiger shark tends to be found in more coastal waters but tigers sharks are also known to go into the deeper ocean if they need to hunt for food. The tiger shark is a fierce predator and tiger sharks hunt everything in the water including fish, seals, birds, turtles and even other sharks. The tiger shark gets it's name from the black stripes it has when it is young. Most tiger sharks lose these stripes as they get older.

Like most other species of shark, tiger sharks have sensors on the sides of their heads which enable them to detect small muscle movements from nearby creatures. The tiger shark also has a wedge-shaped head which allows the shark to turn quickly when it needs to. Tiger sharks can reach a top speed of around 20mph which is pretty fast in the water! Tiger sharks are extremely aggressive animals are thought to be one of the most dangerous sharks for humans to come into contact with. Tiger sharks are solitary hunters and usually do most of their hunting at night when the tiger shark can move through the water unseen.

Female tiger sharks mate every three years or so and the time of year when this happens depends on where the tiger shark lives. Tiger sharks in the Northern Hemisphere mate from March to May, where tiger sharks in the Southern Hemisphere mate from November to January. The eggs hatch inside the female tiger shark and can remain inside her for up to 16 months. When they are big enough, the female tiger shark gives birth to between 10 and 80 baby tiger sharks.

Tiger sharks usually range from between 3 to 5 metres in length. Although much larger specimens have been seen, the largest a tiger shark tends to get is around 5.5 metres long.

Tetra

True Wild Life | Tetra | The tetra is a small and colourful fish native to the freshwater rivers and streams of South America and Africa. The tetra is one of the most well known and popular freshwater tropical fish kept in tanks and aquariums all around the world. There are around 150 known species of the tetra fish native to the clearwater streams and slow-moving rivers of both Africa South America. There are more than 100 different species of the tetra in Africa alone and even more in South America. The two groups of fish are classified as the characidaes (the tetra of South America) and the alestiidaes (the tetra of Africa).

Tetras are very commonly found in aquariums around the world and due to the hardiness of the tetra, they are easy fish to keep. The neon tetra is among the most commonly bred commercial species of tetra out of all of the tetra species. The tetra is an omnivorous animal eating a mixture of both plant and animal matter. The tetra primarily feeds on algae and brine shrimp and picks out the larger food particles that are part of the plankton in the water. Tetras also eat small invertebrates such as worms.

Due to their small size, tetras are prey to many predators in their watery world. Larger fish, eels, crustaceans and invertebrates all prey on the tiny tetra which is often easy to spot due to it's brightly coloured body. When a tetra feels it is in in danger, it will often try to find something to hide in or travel into water that is slightly darker so that the tetra is harder to spot.

Tetras live in schools of many tetra individuals, sometimes in the hundreds, in order to help to protect each other and to find food. Tetras kept in tanks should be kept with at least 6 or 7 other tetras. Male tetras tend to be smaller in size than the female tetras. Tetras breed in pairs that spawn together for about a year. Female tetras lay an average of 130 eggs usually on a leaf in the water, which are then fertilised by the male tetra. The baby tetra are called fry and hatch within a couple of days.

Tang

True Wild Life | Tang | The tang is a small to medium sized fish that is found in the warmer coastal waters of the tropics. Tangs are well know for their bright colours and are closely related to surgeon fish and unicorn fish. There are 80 known species of tang, that inhabit the tropical waters of the southern hemisphere, including the largest species of the tang group, the white margin unicorn fish that has been known to grow over a meter long.

Tang are found around shallow coral reefs where there is an abundance of food and plenty of places to hide from approaching predators. The tang is named after the razor-sharp scalpel (also known as tang) at the base of their tails. When the tang feels threatened, it hides in a crevice in the coral or rocks and anchors itself in using this scalpel. The scalpel at the base of the tang's tail can also be used to defend itself if it is caught. Although the tang is an omnivorous animal, it has a predominantly vegetarian diet. Tang mainly feed on algae and other plants around the coral reefs as well as picking the larger food particles out of the plankton in the water. Later species of tang also feed on small invertebrates and fish. Due to the tang's love of algae, tang can often be seen with sea turtles as they swim along with them cleaning the algae off their shells.

Due to it's small size, the tang has many predators in it's shallow ocean environment including larger fish, eels, sharks, crustaceans and large invertebrates such as jellyfish. Tang are also preyed upon by human who mainly catch them to keep in artificial aquariums. Tangs are known to breed all year round in the tropical regions, beginning with a male tang securing himself a temporary breeding territory that includes a pair or group of female tang. The female tang release an average of 40,000 eggs into the water which are then fertilised by the male tang. The baby tang are known as fry and hatch in less than a week. Tangs however are reported to breed as well when in captivity.

The tang is one of the most popular species of marine fish to be kept in tanks and aquariums around the world. People are charmed by the peaceful and gentle nature of the tang, along with it's bright colours and the fact that tangs can live for a long time (average is between 12 and 15 years), especially compared to other species of marine fish of a similar size. Tang are not recommended to be kept in small aquariums as tang have the potential to get pretty big. The most common type of tang kept in salt-water aquariums are the yellow tang and the bright blue regal tang but despite the fact that the tang is popular fish to keep they need to be well looked after and have specific water conditions maintained.

Stingray

True Wild Life | Stingray | The stingray is a flat marine fish found in warmer waters around the globe. The stingray is belongs to the same group of fish as other ray and are also believed to be closely related to sharks. The stingray inhabits the warmer tropical waters around the world generally in the slightly deeper waters rather than the shallows. When the weather begins to cool, the stingray will retreat further into the depths of the ocean.

The stingray is most well known for the stinger that is present on the end of tail of the stingray. The stingray uses the stinger on the end of it's long tail pierce through and stop it's prey before it can escape. The stingray's stinger is razor-sharp, barbed or serrated and attached to the stingray's thin tail. This means the stingray can whip it's stinger to pretty much anywhere, extremely quickly as the long, thin tail of the stingray is extremely agile and very flexible.

The size of a sting really is dependent on what species of stingray it is. Some species of stingray in the deep ocean get up to 14ft long including the tail and these species of stingray naturally have a larger stinger. The smaller stingray species tend to have small stingers, so that the stinger is relevant to the size of the body of the stingray. The stingray is a carnivorous animal, meaning that the stingray only feeds on other animals and does not eat plants. The stingray preys on a wide variety of species in the sea including crabs, molluscs, clams, oysters, snails and some species of fish.

The stingray has few natural predators in it's natural environment mainly due to the large size of the stingray. Stingrays are also able to use their flattened body shape to their advantage by resting on the sea floor and therefore able to hide from predators as well as keep an eye out for potential prey. The main predators of the stingrays are sharks, seals, sea lions and large species of carnivorous fish along with humans.

Stingrays breed during the winter and the female stingray gives birth to live young usually between 5 and 15 baby stingrays, known as a litter. The baby stingrays develop inside the mother stingray for around 9 months and feed off the remaining yolk in their eggs sacks. When this runs out, the baby stingrays are feed milk in the uterus of the female stingray. When the baby stingrays are born, they are able to swim about and begin hunting with their mother.

Spiny Dogfish

True Wild Life | Spiny Dogfish | The spiny dogfish is one of the most abundant species of shark in the world is also commonly known as the piked dogfish, the codshark and the thorndog. The spiny dogfish is the most well-known of the dogfish species and is also thought to be the most well-researched shark species in the world. The spiny dogfish is found worldwide across the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. The spiny dogfish tends to be be found in the warmer coastal waters although it is not uncommon to spot spiny dogfish hunting in the freezing sub-Antarctic waters.

The spiny dogfish is a small-sized shark with a grey coloured body that has a light underside and little white spots on the back of the spiny dogfish. The spiny dogfish also has large eyes and a short snout and unlike many other species of shark, the spiny dogfish does has have an anal fin. The most distinctive feature of the spiny dogfish are the two spikes found on the back of the spiny dogfish, one spike in front of each dorsal fin. The spikes on the back of the spiny dogfish are mildly poisonous and are mainly used in defence.

The spiny dogfish is a carnivorous animal and therefore survives on a purely meat-based diet. Fish, squid and crustaceans are the most common meals for the spiny dogfish, but the spiny dogfish is also known to hunt octopus and even other sharks. Due to its relatively large size, aggressive nature and poisonous spikes, the only real predators of the spiny dogfish are larger sharks, humans and the occasional killer whale.

As with some other species of shark, the spiny dogfish does not lays its eggs in the water to hatch, but the spiny dogfish fry instead hatch inside their mother and then emerge into the open ocean. After a gestation period that can last up to 2 years (the longest of any other vertebrate), the female spiny dogfish will produce a little of between 2 and 15 spiny dogfish pups.

Silver Dollar

True Wild Life | Silver Dollar | The silver dollar is a medium-sized species of freshwater fish, natively found in the slow-moving rivers of South America. The silver dollar is a very distinctive and easily-recognised species of tropical fish due to it's rounded disk-like body which is a glimmering silver in colour. The silver dollar is one of the most popular fish today for tropical fish enthusiasts and is therefore found in artificial aquariums all around the world. The silver dollar originated from the Tapajas River basin, a 12,000 miles long river that runs through Brazil feeding into the great Amazon River.

The silver dollar is known to be a relatively peaceful species of tropical fish, but they are also known to have an aggressively dominant nature particularly towards smaller fish. These rounded fish are thought to be closely related to the infamous piranha, also found in the rivers of South America, and also not as ferocious, the silver dollar definitely shares some of the piranha's bullying instinct. Silver dollar are generally quite sociable find, spending their lives amongst the weeds in the well-vegetated parts of the river where there is a good supply of food and protection from passing predators. Silver dollar gather together in groups known as shoals. which are able to work together to catch larger prey or to try and intimate hungry predators.

Although omnivorous animals, the silver dollar has a mainly vegetarian diet primarily eating grasses and other aquatic plants in the surrounding water. In the wild, silver dollar also supplement their diet with small invertebrates including insects, worms and spiders. Despite their naturally aggressive nature, the small size of the silver dollar coupled with it's glimmering scales means that these fish are preyed upon by numerous species within their natural environment. Birds, large fish and reptiles are the most common predators of the silver dollar in South America.

The silver dollar is a peaceful schooling species that spends most of its time in the mid- to upper-level of the water and has a maximum lifespan that can be more than 10 years. The female adult silver dollar will spawn around 2,000 eggs. They tend to breed most commonly in soft, warm water in low light. Silver dollar are one of the most popular tropical fish to be kept in the globally found fish tanks, however, it is advisable not to keep silver dollar with smaller fish. They are said to live quite happily though in tanks that contain larger fish species such as oscars and catfish.

Siamese Fighting Fish

True Wild Life | Siamese Fighting Fish | The Siamese fighting fish is a small and colourful carnivorous species of fish found in the Mekong River that runs through a number of countries in south-east Asia. The Siamese fighting fish is native to the Mekong delta in south-east Asia and although the Siamese fighting fish can today be found naturally in Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, it is thought to have originated from Thailand. The Siamese fighting fish was given its name in Thai ikan bettah which means biting fish! The Siamese fighting fish is known for its feisty temperament displayed towards other males and smaller species of fish and can often display very aggressive behaviour towards any animals that the Siamese fighting fish sees as a threat towards it .

The Siamese fighting fish is easily recognised due to the beautiful colours displayed on the body of the Siamese fighting fish. Siamese fighting fish also have long and elaborate coloured fins, which are longer on the male Siamese fighting fish than the fins of the female Siamese fighting fish. The fins of the Siamese fighting fish look particularly elaborate due to the fact that the body of the Siamese fighting fish is relatively small. The Siamese fighting fish is a carnivorous species of animals and therefore, the diet Siamese fighting fish is meat based. Siamese fighting fish mainly eat insects and brine shrimp and also the larger food particles that are part of the plankton in the water.

Due to it's small size, bright colours and long, attractive fins, the Siamese fighting fish is preyed about by many other animals. The predators of the Siamese fighting fish include larger fish, cats, newts, salamanders, birds and humans who catch the Siamese fighting fish to keep in tanks at home.

The Siamese fighting fish mate in a fashion that involves the male Siamese fighting fish and female Siamese fighting fish spiralling around each other. Between 10 and 45 eggs are released and fertilized at each embrace. Once the female Siamese fighting fish has released all of her eggs, she is chased away from the territory of the male Siamese fighting fish, as it is likely that she'll eat the eggs. The male Siamese fighting fish carefully keeps every egg in his bubble nest, making sure none fall to the bottom, and repairing the bubble nest as needed. The incubation period of the eggs of the Siamese fighting fish is a few days. The Siamese fighting fish only lives for up to 5 years, but the Siamese fighting fish normally will only get to the age of 2 or 3.

The Siamese fighting fish is a fairly hassle free fish to keep in a small aquarium where there only a few fish. The Siamese fighting fish is also a popular aquarium fish due to it's brightly coloured body and elaborate fins. The Siamese fighting fish only has a short lifespan though which means that they won't get to as old as the fish in the garden pond!

Scorpion Fish

True Wild Life | Scorpion Fish | A scorpion fish is a group of predatory, marine fish that are found amongst coral reefs and in shallow waters in the more temperate oceans. The scorpion fish is most closely related to the lionfish and is most commonly found in the Indian and South Pacific oceans. There are more than 200 recognised species of scorpion fish, hiding amongst the ocean reefs and in artificial aquariums around the world. Scorpion fish are kept in tanks by numerous people because of their interesting appearance and behaviour.

The body of the scorpion fish is often cover in feathery fins that help the scorpion fish to camouflage itself into the surrounding coral. The colours and markings of the scorpion fish are also used to help the scorpion fish to hide. Scorpion fish are nocturnal predators, and spend the daylight hours resting in a hidden crevice in the coral. Scorpion fish are also able to ambush their prey from this position and often catch small fish by surprise.

Scorpion fish are omnivorous fish and hunt small fish, crustaceans and snails on the coral reefs. Scorpion fish are able to stun their prey with their venom before eating it. Scorpion fish also use their venomous sting to fend off unwanted predators. The scorpion fish is a very dominant predator in it's environment, and therefore the scorpion fish has very few natural predators. The human catching the scorpion fish to keep in tanks is the biggest threat to the scorpion fish along with habitat loss from the destruction of coral reefs. Large fish and sea lions are also known to hunt scorpion fish.

The female scorpion fish releases between 2,000 and 15,000 eggs into the water which are fertilised by the male scorpion fish. The scorpion fish pair then quickly hide so that their eggs can float into the ocean before being spotted by predators that eat the eggs. The scorpion fish eggs hatch in just 2 days and the tiny scorpion fish fry remain near the surface of the water until they are bigger. When the scorpion fish fry reach nearly an inch in length, they swim down into the ocean to join the reef community.