Nature’s Aquarium

These corals are created by colonies of thousands of tiny living invertebrate animals, called polyps, who live on top of their own secreted limestone skeletons. With the use of tentacles, they catch food. They also rely on the algae living inside their tissue for energy. These algae give the coral their color. Thin layers of living polyps cover a massive foundation of skeletons left by their ancestors. Hard corals extract calcium from the seawater to help build their skeletal body. They grow by dividing and creating identical polyps. The polyps provide shelter for the algae, in exchange for food, using photosynthesis for the coral. This is why reefs need clear, shallow water – to get enough sunlight for photosynthesis.

ENDANGERED: LEAST CONCERNED
They are threatened by diseases, pollution, and warming of water. Florida’s reefs have been highly impacted by disease.

These are a nocturnal, slow moving, bottom dweller, called sleeper sharks. They are known for resting in large, stationary groups, sometimes piling on top of each other, or in crevices during the day. They are found in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, preferring coral reefs and sea grass beds. Their skin looks smooth, but has a texture like sandpaper, and color ranges from browns, tans, to grays. Their heads are flat, with fleshy appendages resembling whiskers that hang below their nostrils. These are used for hunting. Not requiring constant swimming to breath, they use a process called buccal bumping, in which it expands their mouth and throat to create negative pressure to suck in water; the pump opens and closes, forcing water out over the gills, allowing them to breathe while lying in place. Their jaws are very strong and have thousands of small teeth. Their eggs hatch inside their body bearing 20-30 pups every other year.

DIET: Crustaceans, mollusks, sting ray, and other fish
LIFESPAN: 24 to 35+ years
PREDATORS: Larger sharks
ENDANGERED: LEAST CONCERNED

These are flexible non-reef building marine invertebrates, without a calcium carbonate skeleton/body. They often have a plant-like, fleshy, or leather-like appearance, thriving in shallow tropical waters. They also have 8 tentacles, used in connection with their symbiotic relationship with the algae living within for feeding. Since they don’t have a hard body, they are supported instead by microscopic, stiff, needle-like calcium carbonate structures called “sclerites” scattered throughout their tissue. They often have a feathery look and adapt well to high-flow areas, where they bend with the current, but can also have the look of bushes, trees, fans, or leather and can grow on hard coral reefs. They come in a variety of shapes and vibrant colors. They can produce a toxic chemical to deter predators.

DIET: Zoo plankton, bacteria plankton, phytoplankton, organ detritus called “reef snow”
LIFESPAN: Individual polyps, 2-3 years – colonies hundreds of years
PREDATORS: Butterfly fish, parrot fish, angel fish, file fish, nudibranchs, crown of thorns starfish, and seaspiders
ENDANGERED: Some species are endangered; however, 44% of hard coral reefs are at risk of extinction.

Their skin color is a vibrant blue, and can change color to a paler shad, and is poisonous. They have a white or yellow spot, spine peduncle or defensive blade, on each side of their narrow tail base, where the tail connects to the body. They grow to a size of 5 to 15 inches, with a maximum weight of 1.6 pounds. They swim in schools when spawning.

DIET: Marine plants & detritus
LIFESPAN: 30 years
PREDATORS: Tuna, grouper, and barracuda
ENDANGERED: LEAST CONCERNED

Sea anemones are stinging invertebrates resembling flowers, with no brain, heart, or bones. Related to corals and jellyfish, they are made up of soft, cylindrical stalks, topped by an oral disc surrounded by anywhere from a dozen to a few hundred venomous tentacles. At their base is a single basal disc, where the mouth is located. They use it to walk or swim to slowly get away from predators and to anchor to rocks and shells. They have a mutually beneficial relationship with other animals. The most well-known is with clownfish and green algae. These species provide them with sugar and oxygen. Sea anemones can range from 1/2 inches to over 6 feet in diameter. They reproduce by producing eggs and by cloning through splitting in half.

DIET: Small fish, zooplankton, and crustaceans
LIFESPAN: Over 100 years
PREDATORS: Starfish, sea spiders, nudibranchs and parrotfish
ENDANGERED: LEAST CONCERNED

The “Nemo” fish is found in the Indo-Pacific Ocean and Great Barrier Reef, but not in the Atlantic Ocean. There are over 30 species. They are small with an average of 4.3 inches. Brightly colored, with white stripes edged in black, they can also be yellow, red, or blackish. All are born male, but the dominant male becomes female when the female of the group dies. They have a strong symbiotic relationship with sea anemone and spend almost all of their time inside an anemone, for food and protection. In turn protecting the anemone from harmful parasites. Because they are poor swimmers, using jet propulsion style of swimming, they usually make one anemone their permanent home.

DIET: Zooplankton, algae, and anemone leftovers
LIFESPAN: 6 – 10 years
PREDATORS: Very few, unless venturing outside the anemone, then its larger reef fish.
ENDANGERED: LEAST CONCERNED
Warming waters are having a negative effect on their survival.

240 of the 400 species of damselfish live in the Indo-Pacific region and found in Australia and parts of the Philippines. The juvenile is black, with 3 white spots – 1 on forehead, one on each side – and is 5-6 inches. They are aggressive and can release a toxin to warn others of predators. They are called “farmers of the reef” because they “weed-out” undesirable algae and cultivate the type they prefer and are often with Clownfish.

DIET: Algae, plankton, small shrimp, small crustaceans
LIFESPAN: 2-8 years
PREDATORS: Grouper, snappers, Jacks, lionfish
ENDANGERED: LEAST CONCERNED

There are over 200 species of eels, which are snake-like fish, found in tropical, shallow waters of the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean coral reefs and rocky crevices. The moray has no scales, pectoral or pelvic fins, are patterned, come in a variety of colors, and some covered with a toxic mucus. They are nocturnal and have a 2nd set of jaws that help them to swallow prey. They range in size from 6 inches – 15 feet long. They have a strong sense of smell, but poor eyesight. Their constant opening and closing of their mouth is a way to pump water through their gills to breathe.

DIET: Fish, octopuses, and crustaceans
LIFESPAN: 10 – 40 years
PREDATORS: Barracuda and sharks
ENDANGERED: LEAST CONCERNED

They are oval shaped, with a silvery-white to yellow tinted body, and 5 wide, black vertical bars. They are named for their stripes resembling insignia of a sergeant major in the military. They are aggressive and grow to 9 inches. They are found in tropical shallow water, in coral reefs, rocky shorelines, and shipwrecks, often swimming in schools. During mating, the male turns dark blue. Females lay up to 200,000 eggs, with the male guarding them for 1 week until hatching. They help to clean parasites off sea turtles.

DIET: Algae, small fish, invertebrates
LIFESPAN: 1-6 years
PREDATORS: Larger fish
ENDANGERED: LEAST CONCERNED

This is the world’s largest fish. They are not whales but are sharks. They can grow up to 60 feet long and weigh over 40,000 pounds. They have a large, 4-foot-wide mouth, a throat the size of a baseball, and thousands of tiny non-functional teeth. Their skin is thick and dark, with vertical and horizontal white lines. They are slow, docile swimmers, non-threatening to humans – known as gentle giants. They are the deepest diving fish, often diving to 1,000 feet, but feed near the surface. They migrate up to 5,000 miles per year for food. They are found in warm tropical waters worldwide, except for the Mediterranean but are very difficult to find. Only one pregnant whale shark has ever been confirmed.

DIET: Sponges, small invertebrates, plankton, small fish, and jellyfish
LIFESPAN: 150 years
PREDATORS: Blue sharks, tiger sharks, and orcas,
ENDANGERED: YES

The barracuda is a predatory fish, recognizable by its torpedo shape, long body, and razor-sharp teeth with a protruding lower jaw. Their color is silvery to creamy white, with vertical stripes and a few black spots. They can grow to 6 feet long and can swim up to 36 mph. There are over 28 different species. They are found in tropical/sub-tropical waters, near shore, around coral reefs, sea grass beds, and mangroves. They are curious and will follow divers. They mainly hunt alone. Humans cannot eat them as they cause ciguatera poisoning, a buildup of algae toxins in marine reef fish.

DIET: Mackerel, tuna, and grunts
LIFESPAN: 2-6 years
PREDATORS: Sharks, goliath grouper, and tuna
ENDANGERED: LEAST CONCERNED

The hawksbill sea turtle is found in tropical and sub-tropical waters, residing in coral reefs, rocky areas, lagoons, and mangrove estuaries. They weigh from 100 – 200 pounds, with a shell that is 2 1/2 – 3 feet long. They are known for their sharp bird-like beak and beautifully patterned shell. They are the first recorded bio-fluorescent reptiles, meaning they absorb light then emit a neon-like, green/red glow from their shell. They are very fast swimmers, swimming up to 15 miles per hour. Hard coral acts as a cleaning station, where they can scrape off algae, barnacles, and parasites, which helps to improve their swimming and maintain their health. And yes, it relieves itching. When nesting, they return to sandy beaches, often in the Caribbean, Australia, and Indo-Pacific oceans to lay their eggs. The hatchlings live in the open ocean, hiding in floating algae mats or seaweed for 1 – 5 years.

Diet: Sponges, jellyfish, mollusks, and anemones.
LIFESPAN: 50 – 60 years
PREDATORS: Tiger sharks, large grouper fish, octopuses, estuarine crocodiles, and humans.
ENDANGERED: CRITICALLY

This fish is highly prized for its flavor and sport fishing – it puts up a good fight and is a fast swimmer. Found in sub-tropical waters, around rocky reefs and drop-offs. It will migrate north in the summer and south in the winter. The body is torpedo shaped with a lateral stripe and yellow tail They can reach lengths of 6 feet and weigh from 12 – 50 pounds. They are very well known for its rich flavor and is used in Japan for Sushumi. A very curious fish, they often approach divers. But beware, as they can cause ciguatera poisoning in humans.

DIET: Squid, mackerel, sardines, and small schooling fish
LIFESPAN: 12 – 20 years
PREDATORS: Sharks, sea lions, seals, larger fish
ENDANGERED: LEAST CONCERNED

Dolphins are highly intelligent social mammals that grow to 10 – 14 feet, weighing 300 – 1400 pounds. Calves weigh 30 – 60 pounds at birth. They recognize themselves in a mirror, where they inspect themselves by twirling and posing. Living in complex social groups (pods) of 10 – 15 members, they use whistles to identify each other, which they can remember for over 20 years. The pod protects one another by ramming attackers with their snouts. They are found worldwide in oceans, coastal waters, bays, and estuaries, often near shorelines. They use echolocation, producing up to 1,000 clicking sounds per second, to navigate and locate food, often working together to herd fish into a ball. They are conscious breathers, meaning they sleep by shutting down only one hemisphere of their brain at a time, and holding their breath for up to 20 minutes. They have a water-tight blow-hole on the top of their head, which is used for breathing air, while keeping their mouth free for feeding. It allows them to exchange up to 80% of their lung air in .3 seconds. Their dorsal fin is similar to a fingerprint in humans and is unique in size and shape. They like to ride boat wakes and jump as high as 16 feet out of the water, landing on their backs or sides, called breaching. Their speed is up to 25 mph.

DIET: Fish, squid, crustaceans.
LIFESPAN: 40 – 60 years
PREDATORS: Mainly bull sharks, tiger sharks, great white sharks and orcas.
ENDANGERED: LEAST CONCERNED
Protected under the Marine Mammal Act

Octopuses are highly intelligent cephalopods. The reef octopus is solitary and nocturnal – feeding at night. They are known for fast camouflaging, changing their skin texture and color, usually blue, white, or green to match rocks/coral and general surroundings. Like all octopuses, they have 8 arms with 200 – 300 suckers on bottom of each. Being invertebrates, they can squeeze into tiny spaces, limited to the size of their beak, which is the only hard part of their body, and is located in the center of its underside, where the arms meet. Their large soft sac is the mantle, measuring about 4 1/2 inches. The mantle is located behind their eyes, often mistaken for their head, but is actually their body. It contains their 3 blue blooded hearts, 2 gills, digestive tract, ink sac, and reproductive organs. They have mini-brains – two thirds of its neurons are in its arms, allowing them to taste, touch, and move independently. The front arms are often used for exploring and the rear for pushing off the seabed. They are gatherers, collecting shells, rocks, and other debris to create a door to their den to hide from predators. Females lay up to 500 eggs and guard them by sealing themselves in their den for 50 – 80 days until they hatch. They do not eat during this time, and die shortly after the hatching.

DIET: spiny lobsters, crabs, and clams
LIFESPAN: 1 – 1.5 YEARS
PREDATORS: Reef sharks, moray eels, stingrays, large fish like grouper and snapper
ENDANGERED: LEAST CONCERNED

There are over 100 species. Ninety percent of their day is spent eating algae. Using their “beak” teeth, they scrape algae off of the coral, scraping parts of the skeleton, creating sand. A large parrotfish can create up to 2,000 pounds of sand per year. They are responsible for much of the white beach sand. A second set of teeth in their throat grinds the food, and are stronger than many metals, like gold, silver, and copper. Their teeth can withstand 530 tons of pressure – the weight of 88 elephants. Some species sleep in a protective, foul-smelling cocoon made of mucus, to hide their scent from predators. Many begin as female and during a 2 – 3 year process change from female to male.

DIET: Algae
LIFESPAN: 5 – 7 years
PREDATORS – Larger reef fish
ENDANGERED: LEAST CONCERNED