Image Copyright Hanah Weerkamp
Image Copyright Hanah Weerkamp
Observed: Koh Chang Reefs,
Observed By: Jonathan Milnes
The Longfin batfish is one of the larger reef-dwelling fishes to be found in Koh Chang waters, growing up to 60cm in length.
Observed: Koh Chang Reefs,
Observed By: Jonathan Milnes
Like all of the clownfish family Clark’s anemonefish has a symbiotic relationship with the poisonous sea anenomes that provide them shelter. they are impervious to the venom of their host and they protect the anemones from predation by other species and are in turn protected from attack by their host. A pretty fair deal.
Also they are sequential hermaphrodites with strict gender and size based hierarchies. This means that if one of them dies another will change gender and role to fill the gap. This is fascinating, read about it here. Imagine that system applied to humanity.
Clark’s Anemonefish has a bright orange, black and white coloration and is a common resident of the anemones of Koh Chang’s coral reefs.
Image Copyright Jonathan Milnes
Observed: Koh Chang Reefs,
Observed By: Jonathan Milnes
Don’t think Nemo! Clownfishes are amazing beasts in all kinds of ways. First up is their symbiotic relationship with the poisonous sea anenomes that provide them shelter. they are impervious to the venom of their host and they protect the anemones from predation by other species and are in turn protected from attack by their host. A pretty fair deal.
Also they are sequential hermaphrodites with strict gender and size based hierarchies. This means that if one of them dies another will change gender and role to fill the gap. This is fascinating, read about it here. Imagine that system applied to humanity.
They are feisty little things, as divers will tell you, and not at all intimidated by size, but stay out of their territory and you’ll be left alone.
Pink Skunk Clownfish Wikipedia
Image Copyright Jonathan Milnes
Image Copyright Jonathan Milnes
Image Copyright Jonathan Milnes
Image Copyright Jonathan Milnes
Image Copyright Jonathan Milnes
Observed: Koh Chang Reefs
Observed by: Jonathan Milnes
The Copperband butterflyfish is also known as the Beaked coral fish. It lives around coral and has quite a pronounced beak so that kind of makes sense. It also has one of those false eye patterns, common in nature, that protect the actual eye of the wearer by having a much larger fake eye effect in a less vulnerable part of the body. Evolution is a wonderful thing and this cunning trick has clearly helped the Copperband to survive.
Copperband Butterflyfish Wikipedia
Image Copyright Ian Gostelow
Image Copyright Jonathan Milnes
Image Copyright Jonathan Milnes
Observed: Koh Chang Reefs
Observed by: Jonathan Milnes
The beautiful blue ring angelfish is thankfully a fairly common sight on Koh Chang’s reefs. It is a voracious feeder eating algae, coral, other fish, shrimps and pretty much anything it can sink its teeth into.
Image Copyright Jonathan Milnes
Observed: Koh Chang Waters
Observed By: Jonathan Milnes
The Red Lionfish is a colourful member of the scorpion fish family that has an array of venomous spines running down its back. Adults can grow as large as 47cm and live up to ten years. Their poison spines are used for protection only. They are rarely fatal to humans but cause extreme pain.
A common treatment is is to soak the stung area in hot water.
Image Copyright Jonathan Milnes
Image Copyright Jonathan Milnes
Observed: Koh Chang Reefs,
Observed By: Jonathan Milnes
The Bluespotted Ribbontail Ray is a beautiful reef-dwelling fish found in the waters around Koh Chang. It is a relatively small ray that doesn’t exceed 35cm in width. It’s poisonous tail spines are able to injure people but it is atimid creature and far more likely to swim away or hide than attack.
