Search

The orbicular batfish is a large, disc-shaped fish with a flattened dusky silver body. Its anal and dorsal fins are symmetrical, giving the adult batfish a spade-like appearance. Its dorsal, anal and tail fins are translucent yellow with black margins, and its pectoral fins are yellow. It has two prominent vertical black bars, a thick one behind the head that crosses the gill cover, and a narrower bar though the eye. Some sub-populations have small black spots on their sides.The adult orbicular batfish very closely resembles the longfinned batfish, and distinguishing between the two is understandably difficult. The longfinned batfish has dark blotches under its pectoral fin and on the bottom edge of its anal fin which are absent on the orbicular batfish.The juvenile orbicular batfish relies on its long fins to mimic a dead leaf by flopping onto its side and allowing the current to take it. It has a great affinity for brackish coastal environments, particularly mangroves and lagoons and can change its colour to a rusty brown to more closely resemble a leaf.As it grows larger, it takes on a silver colouration more closely resembling the longfinned batfish. Gradually its fins become shorter until it takes on the characteristic spade shape of other members of its family.The adult will move out of its sheltered coastal habitat to reefs where it will feed primarily on algae, but will snack on small fish if given the opportunity. Perhaps its strangest dietary quirk, the orbicular batfish will often follow sea turtles around to eat their faeces.It ranges from Knysna in the Western Cape to the Red Sea, Australia, Polynesia, Japan and Alaska. Invasive populations are also present in the Caribbean.

Bluefin gurnards are a common bottom-dwelling fish throughout the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Their colouring may seem drab and unimpressive, camouflaging them will with the seafloor - until it spreads its brilliant blue pectoral fins, from where it draws its name.Just in front of these fins, you might notice that it appears to have a set of little “legs” that helps it creep along. These are not actually legs, they are modified rays of its fins, which the gurnards use to stir up the sand to find prey – small crustaceans. They are predators that feed on small crabs and shrimp.Gurnard's bodies are long and compact, with armoured, bone-plated heads.

The sergeant majors are small, oval damselfish. It has a grey body with a yellow dorsal area. Most notably, they have five vertical blue-black bars across their bodies.Although they sometimes form schools, the pair up during breeding. Breeding pairs have a preferred territory and will fight other fish to protect it. Once the eggs have been laid, the male will remain to guard and aerate them - this fierce behaviour is where they get their name "sergeant major" as well as their scientific name Abudefdul, with "abu" meaning father or guardian in Arabic.They are omnivores and will opportunistically feed on algae and small invertebrates.Juvenile sergeant majors are commonly found in tidal pools, while adults prefer rock and coral reefs on South Africa's Indian Ocean coasts. Globally, they occur throughout the Indo-Pacific, ranging from South Africa to the Red Sea, Japan and the Pitcairn Islands.

This blue-grey fish has an oval-shaped body with several faint yellow horizontal stripes on its flanks and dark blue-grey fins.It has several sets of both incisors and a row of molars. They use this combination of teeth to pick up bottom-dwelling invertebrates and crush their shells. As they mature they become more omnivorous and will graze on algae.During spring and summer months, male steentjies will take on brighter blue and yellow colours and will construct nests in the sand. Once spawning has taken place, the males will remain at the nest to guard the eggs until they hatch.The steentjie occurs in large shoals above shallow, rocky reefs on the coasts of the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and southern KwaZulu-Natal.

The dassie is a deep-bodied, oval-shaped fish with a silver body, black patch on its tail peduncle and red-pink tint to the tips of its fins. Juveniles also have several dark vertical bars on each side.it is an omnivore, with a mouth equipped with several rows of molars and canines.Dassies have a wide range on the Southern African Coast, from Angola to Mozambique. They inhabit a wide range of shallow environments, and juveniles are commonly found in rock pools.

The panga is pink with horizontal stripes made up of small blue spots on its sides. It has a prominent mouth with fleshy lips and large canines. These canines help it to prey on small crustaceans, squid and other small fish. Small hairs on its lips allow it to feed over soft sediment without swallowing any.It inhabits rocky reefs and sandy bottomed shores along the coast of southern Namibia and South Africa.

The carpenter is a small, elongated sea bream with a silver-pink body and faint, pale blue spots arranged in several horizontal bands along its sides.It is a predator, with pronounced canines that it uses to prey on sardines, anchovies and squid. As a juvenile it feeds primarily on crabs, amphipods and polychaetes.The carpenter is endemic to rocks reefs on the South African coast from Cape Point to Margate, and migrates to the Agulhas bank to spawn. Most adults are resident to a preferred area, but a small portion of carpenters disperse widely.Due to historic overfishing, the carpenter saw a significant decline in its population until limitations were placed on its commercial fishery in 2003. Since then, wild populations are slowly recovering.

Frogfish are so named because their bodies and fins are covered with wart-like bumps. As is the case with frogs and toads, you won’t get warts if you touch these grumpy-looking fish. Their vivid colours and globular shapes provide them with excellent camouflage, particularly around sponges which they will increasingly depend on for shelter as they get older. Their colouration varies - blood red, black, cream, tan, yellow and brown are all common, often with spot sand blotches of pink, white or red - thus it is very important for a frogfish to find sponges that match its colouration.