Pacific Grunt Sculpin
A Fish Suitable for the Aquarium and the Pacific Rim Biotope Tank
A previous article discusses the convergent evolution of different intertidal species, where they adapt to similar conditions in different oceans and end up looking like one-another. In other cases novel solutions are found to problems. The Grunt Sculpin of the Pacific is a case in point.
Grunt Sculpin
This weird little fish (Rhamphocottus richardsonii) is the only member of the fish family Rhamphocottidae. It grows to about 9cm and can be found in rock pools along the Pacific Rim. Unable to swim properly it crawls and hops over the bottom looking for small crustaceans to eat. When the water becomes too turbulent, and there is danger of being swept away, it takes shelter in any convenient rock crevice or empty shell, such as those of the giant barnacle (Balanus nubilis). Grunt Sculpins will even use suitable items of human debris, hiding in old cans and bottles! At breeding time the female bullies the poor little male into a suitable hole in the rock and keeps him there until she lays her eggs. He fertilises them and then gets landed with the job of guarding them.
Lumpsucker Fish
The nearest equivalent Atlantic fish species that springs to mind is the Lumpsucker, (Cyclopterus lumpus), a member of the family Cyclopteridae. The Lumpsucker is a much larger fish, and it usually lives below the low-water line, but, like the Grunt Sculpin, it has adopted a lifestyle where it does not need to swim very well, and the males also come up onto the beach to guard their eggs under boulders. The fact that these two fish do share a few similarities is an illustration of the way in which adapting to the same environmental conditions often throws up some of the same solutions.
Grunt Sculpins in the Aquarium
The whole life cycle of this fish has been researched at Vancouver Aquarium, and it is thought that it might be suitable for the aquarium trade. The species is certainly the right sort of size, and it is also colourful and interesting enough to be considered. It requires a much lower water temperature than tropical marine species, but enthusiasts might well decide that a Pacific Rim Biotope Tank is worth setting up. If hobbyists decide to attempt this sort of approach then some of the other Pacific species could be kept alongside – maybe a few of the interesting sea anemones and the Cup Coral, (Balanophyllia elegans), with its fluorescent orange pigment?
Other articles by John Blatchford
Click on the images below for a better view.
Grunt Sculpin
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Lumpsucker
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