Future Perfect Travels: Belize Barrier Reef's Frog Fish!!

The Frog Fish

Another Amazing fish in appearance is the frog fish, it has a body resembling a frog and exists in many colors: red, pink, orange, yellow, green and tan, frequently they have dark spots all over their body. A Frog fish changes colors and shades to blend in with their background. Their bodies are stocky with a prickly covering that seems to be loose. The pectoral fins are almost limb-like with a joint much like an elbow. They can also look like Sargassum weed and sponges. When not in Motion, they are difficult to see because they blend in with the background. A Frog fish does not often swim, they propel themselves by taking water in through their mouth and and shooting it through small gill openings. They are usually 21/2-inches long with a maximum length of 8 inches.
The Frog fish most often inhabit reefs, sitting on corals and sponges. Some species will inhabit sandy Areas.
They eat small fishes and crustaceans. However, they do not just wait for their prey, they search for prey. Their dorsal spine is able to move and acts like a fishing rod with a lure at the end. The length of the spine varies by specie and may be striped or not. The lure is frequently shaped like a worm, shrimp or small fish and is moved in a particular pattern. Some frog fish excrete a chemical substance that attracts prey. The movement of the lure attracts prey to the frog fish, who then capture and eat it. Frog fish suck in their prey whole in a single fast motion, estimated by some to be as fast as 6 thousandths of a second. Their oral cavity increases up to 12 times its size when feeding; this facilitates the sucking pressure to take in the prey and allows the frog fish to eat animals larger than its own size. Amazing!!
When spawning, the female frog fish fills up inside with eggs. When she is full, the female becomes buoyant with her tail up. The male then follows the female who nudges her in the abdomen. Once they reach the sea surface, spawning occurs. Thousands of eggs are released into a group that drifts for a few days prior to sinking to the bottom where they hatch. Young ones do look much like adults, but much smaller. Learn more about Belize, view videos about Belize, Day Tours in Belize, Vacation Packages to Belize.