Flickr : Solana Just this past week some very unique animals made their way to Japan and Hong Kong. The first animal that caught my attention is the wondrous Mimic Octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus). A handful of these intelligent species were collected and sold for a good sum of money. Based on the video documentaries that I have [...]
Flickr : Solana
Just this past week some very unique animals made their way to Japan and Hong Kong. The first animal that caught my attention is the wondrous Mimic Octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus). A handful of these intelligent species were collected and sold for a good sum of money. Based on the video documentaries that I have seen, I really never imagined keeping this octopus within the restraints of captivity. However, after doing some research I came across a article by Jay Hemdel dedicated to their care. If you’re at all curious, I’d encourage you to give it a read: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/4/fish
Next up are the sharks. Typically outside of America marine aquariums are smaller and cannot maintain larger species e.g. Sharks! But a few dedicated aquarists and rare fish collectors in Japan quickly snatched up the Zebra Shark (Stegostoma fasciatum) and Zebra Bullhead Sharks (Heterodontus zebra) that became available this week. These are only available a couple times a year, if that often, and the rare collectors were very happy to see these show up.
Stegostoma fasciatum is a favorite of mine, particularly after observing them swim gracefully in the large exhibit at the Georgia Aquarium. There is something extremely serene and attractive about them. In case you did not know, this shark undergoes a morph much like Angelfish do from juvenile to adults. Here’s a great photo showing this change.This shark sold for ¥140,000 or $1,500 USD to a well known aquarist in Japan with a very large aquarium.
The Zebra Bullhead Sharks (Heterodontus zebra) sold for ¥80,000 or $900USD. Mr. Kiyoshi Endoh, author of Angelfishes of the World, and Tetsuo Otake, translator of the mentioned book, got to see this beautiful shark before they sold. This species is actually a fairly deep living shark and is often found in waters of 50-180m off the coast of Japan south to NW Australia.
All three of these species have demanding habitat requirements and should not be kept by just anyone. In fact I would argue very few people in this world should even attempt these outside of public aquariums. Nevertheless, it’s news like this that leaves me in awe of the hobby and the strides we’ve made in caring for and understanding some of nature’s most unique creatures.
