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Weird UK fish - ID help please

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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portinfer

Aquatic shopper...
Jul 3, 2003
1,327
409
173
Weird fish ....

I have just got back from the sea and saw a weird fish.

I tried to look on fishbase.org but not sure what I am looking for....

Basically I dove down in about 3m or 4m of water here in Guernsey in a local bay - sandy bootom and one clump of kelp in front of me.

A fish swam out to greet me much as a wrasse does but more boldly.

I was a fat round fish with red eyes and red knobbles down each side.

The fins were orangey yellow.

It led me away from the kelp and then swam slowly back to it.

I checked it out again and found a reasonably large chancre (brown edible crab) in a semi disassembled manner - I guess the fish was eating it.

I have seen quite a few fish and I was with Fabio an Italian guy who has been spearing for 15 years I think - mostly in the med. - he hadn't seen one either... but said it looked a bit like a poisonous sort of fish - like a stone fish or something.

If anyone else has come across this either in UK waters or elsewhere let me know - any online pics would help in identifying it ... I didn't take my camera...

By the way the sea was about 10C with plenty of small chancre around...

Cheers
Ed
 
Don't think so - they are more brown and have massive mouth - this didn't seem like a juvenile - I have seen monkfish and def. not one of those... also I think monkfish don't have red eyes...?
Cheers tho'
 
Looked similar in shape to an Orange Roughy but the OR is too orange and has a lateral line - the fish I saw didn't

Anyway - the shape is similar...
 
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Why didn't you kill it ?
that way we could be sure of getting a good ID
What colour was the fish's body?
Did it have 1 or 2 dorsal fins?
what type of tail? V or straight like wrasse?
 
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Yeah I should have shot it... with my Nikonos III....

I found it in a book in the library at lunch today - Huan was right - a lumpfish.

The book said that they are deepwater fish but come into the shallows during Feb to May - they spawn and then the female buggers off to the deep water (ain't that always the case.. ) while leaving the male to look after the eggs until they hatch.
He fins water over the eggs (white mass) to keep them well oxenegenated (sp..well I have been shoulder deep in code all day so ...)

Anyway Pastor - def not a corkwing wrasse nor an atlantic grey trigger...

So Huan wins the easter egg hunt... I thought it was an April fool fish myself but then Fabio my Italian buddy saw it too so I knew I was not hallucinating !

Anyone else seen one ?

Anyone eaten one ?! (I may check it out again but won't be eating it - going soft, me laa).
 
Found some pics - have to take my camera out tomorrow... should be fine weather and clear water judging by the calm we have had recently.
Cheers everyone
Ed
 
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Lumpfish Caviar is supposed to be good stuff, maybe not the kind of Easter "eggs" you were thinking of?
 
I am sure you are describing A Lumpsucker (cyclopterus Lumpus) breeding colour changing more red . the eggs are sold as poor man caviar.I see these fish in the English channel regular.

hope this helps Old Dave
 
Saw a dead one in the sea today... guess it may have been bycatch from a pot or something ?
Seemed a shame...
 
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