Scott Fellman

Have you noticed our obsession with baby animals? We love cute little baby Harp Seals, Koalas, Pandas…Hell, I’ve even seen baby Jackson’s Chameleons that look sort of huggable. But what about baby fishes? Yeah, baby fish can actually be pretty darned adorable! Just think about these examples:

Baby Sweetlips are real cuties. I think it’s because their eyes are disproportionately larger than the rest of their bodies. And their mouths definitely look “baby-like”! I suppose the little guys would be really cuddly until they turn into an adults, and the big dummies realizes that everything in the aquarium is their personal smorgasbord.

I also like juvenile Zebrasoma Tang species. Again, their eyes are just too big for their little heads. They look so sweet and innocent…I could just give them a big hug! Pixar’s animators could hardly do better! How come we don’t see more baby fish? Why not a “Fish Babies”
calendar?

I guess the biggest reason why we don’t have more people showing off their cute little baby fish is that, well- we don’t see a ton of cute baby fish in the marine hobby. Since we’re so into the adults of most species (exception: the larger Angelfish species, like the Imperator, Koran, Queen, etc.- which are awesome as juveniles), we probably rarely see little guys. Is this a problem? Well, perhaps. Let’s get one thing cleared up- I’m not advocating purchasing tiny little versions of Pomacanthus angels or Groupers.

If you don’t have a sufficiently large tank available at the outset, don’t purchase any fish under the “assumption” that you’ll “get that 750 gallon aquarium later”. It doesn’t always happen, and it’s not correct to assume that a large fish can “adapt” to a small tank or “grow to the size of the aquarium”. One other thing to clear up- juveniles of near-impossible-to-keep fishes (like C. orantissimus or C. myersi butterflies) will likely NOT fare any better than adults. If they have challenging dietary needs, they will not be any easier to meet as juveniles. I see this error in judgement made all the time.

My case for purchasing juvenile fishes whenever you can is pretty simple: First, with proper care, they will often more readily adapt to captive life, eating prepared foods and accepting aquarium conditions (yes, there are exceptions, but my experience has been largely positive with most common species). Second, they are typically less aggressive and play nicer with conspecifics- the classic example being the Centropyge angelfish.

It’s far easier to keep several juvenile Centropyge species
together when they are added to one aquarium as juveniles. Territories will be formed later- at the moment, it’s all about being a kid! Really! I have very fond memories of my juvenile Lemonpeel, Flame, and Bicolor angels all “playing” together in my old 225 gallon aquarium. They were a tight little gang, and when they were older, they established their territories. Yet, they all played nice, just like a couple of beer-swilling reefers at a MACNA! In fact, you could make the argument that “familiarity breeds content” with fishes. There’s a lot to be said for growing up on the same block together!

My final case for obtaining juvenile fishes is perhaps the most compelling- and the most preachy: When we remove older, breeding-size adult fishes from the reefs, we are potentially immediately affecting the breeding population of fishes on the natural reefs. If enough breeding size individuals are removed from wild populations, who knows how profound the impact could be? Pressure on the natural reefs caused by overfishing and other factors is not just for “reef huggers” and reactionary kooks…It’s a real concern, and we can help alleviate the problem
and educate others in the process.

If you really want to see cute baby fishies, breed your own! Follow the sage advice of my pals Matt Pederson, Tal Sweet, and the hundreds of others who are part of the growing ranks of home breeders- and get in the game! If you have hundreds of larval fishes, you’ll get to see those cute little eyes looking out at you every day. And, you can feel great about doing something that will help the hobby-and the world’s reefs-at the same time! Win-win, right? Yeah!

So, next time you see that cute little juvenile Flame Hawk staring back at you from the dealer’s aquarium like a puppy in the window, open your heart and reach for your wallet…

Ok. Seriously. Think young!

Until next time,

Stay Wet

Scott Fellman