Belize's Tarpon!!

The Tarpon.

The Tarpon can be found along the reef, in coastal waters, estuaries, lagoons, and rivers ( they prefer to stay in secluded areas).  They feed mainly in the night, almost exclusively on schooling fish ( slashing through nabbing their prey) and occasionally on crabs.  The tarpon is able to fill it's swim bladder with air and absorb oxygen from it, like a prehistoric lung, they can also breath air from the surface.  This is an advantage when oxygen levels in the water is low.  The tarpon  grows slowly taking 7 to 13 years to mature, but can reach up to up to 8 feet long and weigh as much as 350 pounds, they are also known as the Silver King.

They appear to be greenish or bluish on top and silver on the sides.  Their large mouth is turned upwards, with their lower jaw containing an extended bony plate.  The last ray of the dorsal fin is much longer than the others, stretching almost to the tail.

The Tarpon spawns between the months of May and September in deeper waters than they reside.  The female lays more than 12 million eggs.  Learn more about Belize, view videos about Belize, Become a fan of Future Perfect's Face Book Page.

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Belize's Yellow Tail Snapper!!!

The Yellow Tail Snapper..

The Yellow tail snapper is the "amusing" one in the snapper family.  They have lustrous bodies that are silver in color,  tinged with blue and a bright yellow mid body racing stripe leading to a yellow tail that is deeply forked.  The yellow tail snapper is very fast, they reside alone and in schools.
The grown yellow tail snapper lives in sandy areas that are 32 to 230 feet deep  near the reef  while the juveniles live in  sea grass beds that also offer them protection and food.
The adult snapper is most active at night and it feeds on crabs, shrimps, cephalopods, worms, gamete and fishes.  They have been observed feeding along with roaming bands of mixed species of fish, they would sometimes blend in with yellow goatfish feeding together.  While the goat fish seek their prey of buried invertebrates, the yellow tail snapper feeds on naive small fishes that appear not to be threatened by the goat fish.  The juvenile snapper feeds on plankton.
Reproduction in the yellow tail snapper happens all year round with peaks at different times in different places; However,  there is a general decline in reproduction during winter time.  They reproduce by releasing eggs, which contain oil droplets for buoyancy in the open water. The eggs hatch into larvae within 24 hours.  Yellow tail snapper has been observed spawning in groups.  Learn more about Belize, See videos about Belize, Become a fan of Future Perfect's Face Book Page.

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Belize Barrier Reef's Spotted Eagle Ray!!!

The Spotted Eagle Ray

Spotted eagle rays are one of 3 types of rays inhabiting  Belize.  They are covered with large white and cream spots on a dark background and has a white underbelly.  They have a shovel shaped snout with a duck looking  mouth that is sensitive to smells and electrical currents.  They are completely made up of cartilage and have no bones.  The most striking feature of rays however, is  the wing like appendages that allow them to seemingly "fly."  On the spotted eagle ray the "wings" are pointed.  These rays can leap impressive distances out of the water,their fins may measure up to seven and a half feet across and their weight may be 150-500 pounds. Spotted eagle rays have a whip-like tail that may be twice as long as its body and contain 1-5 spines at the base that contain venom.
They can be found along the reef,  and in sandy areas  (shallow or deep).  Spotted eagle rays generally swim alone,  but sometimes they are  observed in pairs and  schools.
They are bottom feeders, and eat crabs, conch, oysters, small fishes and crustaceans.  They have powerful jaws and grinding teeth strong enough to crack shells.
Once the rays reach sexual maturity, females gives birth to 1-2 at a time. Each one hatches inside the female and then is born alive.  Learn more about Belize, see videos about Belize, join our Travel club for free!!

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Belize Barrier Reef's Jew Fish!!!

The Jew Fish

The Jew fish is also known as the Goliath grouper,this is the largest fish on the reef.  They are yellowish brown to olive green in color, with their head and fins covered with small black spots and the body containing irregular dark and vertical bars and spots.  Their fins are rounded and they have small eyes compared to their body size.  These large creatures can grow up to 8 feet and weigh more than 700 pounds.  The Jew fish  makes a loud sound by vibrating a membrane inside their bodies, this sound can be heard from a distance and is believed to scare off  intruders and locate other Jew fishes.  They have a lifespan of up to 50 years.

They are  found inshore and are generally found alone residing in caves, ocean debris and under ledges. They can also be found in estuaries, bays, harbors, mangrove areas and shipwrecks.

Jew fishes are mostly meat eaters (carnivores).  They hide in structures until they see a potential prey near the area where they are located. They then rush out to engulf the prey and return to their hiding places. Their potential prey consists of crustaceans, octopuses, turtles, fishes, spiny lobsters, crabs, small sea turtles, spiny puffers and stingrays.

The Jew fish spawns at specific locations during the full moon periods of the summer months.  They travel to their spawning aggregation site, mate and then return to their solitary existence. They must be 4-7 years old before they are mature enough to spawn. Learn more about Belize, view videos about Belize, view vacation packages and tours available in Belize, join Future Perfect's Travel Club for free!!

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Belize's Barracuda!!

The Barracuda.

The Barracuda has a long, slender and silver cylindrical body covered with small scales and can grow up to 6 feet in length.  They have a hard bony skeleton covered by strong muscles that assists them to propel through water at great speeds.  This speed becomes useful when it is time to feed. Their long  jaws, with visible pointed teeth, is quite distinctive.  Their  teeth is capable of immense tearing of the barracuda's food source.
The Barracuda lives  around reefs and other areas where food sources live.  Small barracudas are often seen in shallow waters along the shore while larger ones are usually in deeper waters. They may be found alone or in small groups.
For feeding purposes the barracuda has a technique of racing through a school of fish with its blade like teeth attacking them. when it injures and immobilizes some of the fishes, it returns to snatch them up. It's clear that the barracuda has truly honed their predatory skills.  They often use their highly evolved instincts to take advantage of the disorder that occurs around dusk, when the nighttime fish switch places with the daytime fish. It is at this time, when their prey least expects it, they attack.  The prey of choice for the barracuda are fishes that feed on algae growing on the coral reef.
The barracudas spawn just like many other fishes, but very few details are known. It is known that fertilized eggs drift in ocean currents and the eggs develop in the open ocean. New born barracudas  that are less than a quarter-inch in length do not have barracuda traits, They must grow to approximately a half  inch in length before it begins to show physical barracuda characteristics. The Barracuda does not attend to their young.  There are theories that barracudas  may spawn more than once a year and spawning patterns may be different from one part of the world to another.  Learn more about Belize, see videos about Belize, book a vacation package or tour in Belize, Join Future Perfect's leisure Travel Club for free.

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Belize's Whale Shark!!

The Whale Shark

The whale shark is the largest shark that has it's mouth at the very front of its head and is known to be the largest fish in the sea.  It has a wide and flat head, a rounded snout and small eyes.  It's color includes light yellow stripes and large white dots on a dark gray skin.  They have 2 dorsal fins, 2 pectoral fins and 5 large gill slots.  Although this fish is not a part of the whale family, it has a size that resembles many whale species.  Whale sharks  grow up to 50 feet in length and can weigh up to 15 tons.  They have a mouth that can stretch to 4 feet wide and a jaw lined with over 3,000 teeth.  Despite its intimidating presence, this creature is completely harmless to humans.  It is estimated that they can live up to 150 years.

The whale shark favors tropical and warm temperate waters all over the world, living in deep waters and coastal areas, swimming near the surface of the water.  Whale sharks are generally seen alone, but pairs are seen occasionally.

The whale sharks feed by straining small animals from the water (filter feeding). They do this by swimming with their mouth open to obtain large masses of water filled with organisms, and then closes its mouth, the gill rakers are then used to filter the food from the water, whatever organisms do not pass through the gills are eaten.  The organisms that serves as nourishment are plankton, krill, small fish, thimble jellies and squids.  Whale sharks are common in March, April and May near Placencia Belize.  They appear like clockwork during those months at Gladden Split, where large groups of grouper and snapper gather to spawn with the full moon on each of those months.  The large amounts of released eggs and sperm from the spawning provide a plentiful source of protein rich food for the whale sharks. They do not have to travel quickly through the water to filter food,  most often they travel less than 3 miles per hour.

The whale sharks reach sexual maturity at age 30 then they are able to mate and reproduce.  Researchers are mixed as to whether these sharks lay eggs or give birth to live young. New born whale sharks are generally 2 feet in length. More about Belize, Videos about Belize, Vacation Packages, Tours (Swim with the Whale Sharks), Leisure Travel Club.

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Indigo Hamlet Fish

Hamlets are known to be members of the sea bass family, but Some fish experts believe all hamlets to be one species.  There are many varieties of colorful hamlets,  Indigo hamlets are small fishes, generally 3-5 inches in length. They are a medium wide fish with beautiful broad blue and indigo bars separated by narrow white bars.  Their forward fins are blue and their rear fins are clear in color, and are considered shy.
Indigo hamlets live on reefs near the bottom in depths of 40-140 feet. They are territorial and live at one site unless forced to move by nature, Hamlets search their territory for food, eating crabs, shrimp and occasionally fishes.
Each hamlet has both male and female productive organs.  They generally spawn at sunset, finding mates that live near their  territory.  These fishes have an elaborate mating ritual and an individual hamlet may assume either the female role or male role for the mating dance.  This dance is characterized by snout position, flaring fins and head movements.  The female plays the aggressor role.  Learn more about Belize, View videos about Belize, Vacation Packages & Tours in Belize, Leisure travel Club.

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