Fishes have fascinated people for a very long time. Although fishes are very healthy as a nutrient intake and also as a medicinal ingredient, they are also very popular with hobbyists for their beauty and attraction. Beautiful Fish is attraction of sight by many fish lovers. Sparkling like moonlight, these creatures color the oceans and the rivers with their brilliance and radiation. They soothe the senses and relieve the mind of its occupancies, distributing calmness and peace along their path. There is a long list of species of fish in the world and each has its own “beauty fish” to boast of. We thought of compiling a brief list of the prettiest fishes in the oceans and in freshwaters which continue to indulge collectors, ever willing to shift their beauty to their personal aquariums, as well as the general public, with their beauty and grandiose. Take a look, here it is.10. African Cichlids
African Cichlids are freshwater species and are home to three lakes in Africa namely Lake Malawi, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Victoria. African Cichlids are adorned for their beauty and skin color scheme with about a thousand or more species of them present in African lake-waters. These fish are observed to be intelligent, social and fascinating to the eyes. Very interestingly, African Cichlid females carry their eggs and their new born babies in their mouths! These fish have a reputation of being very aggressive and predatory, behaving offensively and dominantly towards all other species when placed in an aquarium! They even have a sense of expressing dominance with the colors of their skin, a bright skin representing a dominant fish while a light colored skin representing a fish that wishes to maintain a low profile and submit itself to others.
9. Parrotfish
Parrot fish is a very, very beautiful fish to inhabit the Ocean, with about eighty species worldwide. All these species have different colors of skin, from monochromatic to rainbow colors, all boasting beauty and attractiveness. Origins of its name are its teeth which, from both of its jaws, are combined together to make a beak resembling that of a parrot! It also has grinding plates in its jaws which grind food intake most probably to make it easier for digestion. Did you know that Parrotfish are responsible for the destruction of coral reefs because they bite up and eat the corals as part of their daily appetite routine? For the same reason, it is difficult to keep this fish as a pet because of their habits of eating too much coral in their appetites.
8. Regal Tang
The Regal Tang is a beautiful fish that can grow up to one foot in length. The Indo Pacific Ocean is home to this beautiful fish which displays Royal Blue skin in the middle of its skin and a patch of black color at the top with yellow whiskers making it seem so very pretty. Its shape resembles that of a pancake with a pointed nose to go with it! This fish is also known as palette surgeonfish, blue tang, royal blue et cetera. The Regal Tang is also known to be socially active, avoiding living alone but instead, living only in pairs from ten to twelve. Plankton and Algae are one of the main ingredients in the diet of this fish.
7. Coral Beauty
This Coral Beauty is also known as the Dusky fish and boasts of a Royal Blue Colored skin on the edges of its body while it has dark vertical stripes of gleaming orange in the centre of its structure. The length of the Coral Beauty varies from one inch to four inches and it is found in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. The Coral Beauty is found to adjust well to aquarium life and is also cheap to purchase. However, surprisingly and unfortunately, many of these fish are killed in transit to their new owners. If it survives its journey, it is a treat for the eyes, hiding behind anything it can find at times within the aquarium owing to its shyness!
6. Flame Angel
The Flame Angel has its name derived from the combination of colors on its skin: Red with orange depicting a flame, and the beauty of the fish bringing about the term angel as an addendum, hence the name Flame Angel! The Flame Angel is found mostly in the Pacific Ocean at a depth of about two to thirty meters below the sea surface. The Flame Angel is rather small in size, growing to twelve centimeters in length. However, the Flame Angel can be expensive to purchase and may even bully other small species in the aquarium. Also, it is not an easy task breeding Flame Angels variants in aquariums; success stories of such breeding have been very rare over the years.
5. Koi
The Koi fish is one of the most beautiful fish in the ocean so much so that it seems its skin was actually printed textile cloth! The beauty of the Koi fish has inspired artists for hundreds of years who resorted to making tattoos of it which became very, very popular with the masses all around. Legend has it that in Japan, it was considered that should the Koi Fish be able to climb the falls at a particular place in the Yellow River known as the dragon gate, the fish fishes successfully completing the climb would be transformed into a dragon! Resultantly, the Koi Fish tattoos became a symbol of advancement in Japanese culture. This Koi fish is also associated with strength in Japanese culture because Koi fish is able to lift its body and jump out of the water!
4. Moorish Idol
The Moorish Idol is seven inches long on average and is found in many oceanic waters including the waters starting Hawai’i and ending Australia, Indian Ocean and a host of other places. These fish feed two to three times a day. The Moorish Idols are beautified with their bodies full of bands of colors such as yellow, white and black contrasting each other which makes them very attractive to the look. Moorish Idols are found at a varying depth in the ocean, from three to a hundred and eighty meters. These fish are what are known as, pelagic spanners, which means that they lay eggs and sperm in the ocean, leaving fertilized eggs at the mercy of the water waves and move ahead in the course of their journey.
3. Lionfish
Again a hobby favorite, the Lionfish is a much feared fish in the sea-jungle! Akin to the Lions on ground, the Lionfish is very dangerous. The danger and fear both come from its eighteen dorsal fins, on average, which inject deadly venom in the captured prey’s body and make sure that the injection is fatal! Lionfish stings can hurt badly but are not fatal in humans, causing nausea or breathing difficulties at most. The largest Lionfish with their zebra stripes are about a quarter meter in length but most grow to about one foot. Interestingly, when in the company of large groups of small fish and intending a good fill, Lionfish will intelligently spread their pectoral feathery fins in order to collect small fish in a confined area so that there is a high probability of swallowing a high number of fish! Lionfish are also known as Turkey fish, Dragon fish and Scorpion fish.
2. Discus
A favorite for aquariums, Discus fish continues to stun people with their beauty that knows no bounds other than the aquarium walls! The origin of their name lies in their shape, which, to the eye, seems laterally compressed without any of their fins protruding, unlike many other fish species. TheDiscus fish is said to be sourced originally in the Amazon River in South America as well as its associated tributaries. The fish is very advanced in social circles; Discus fish live in groups instead of individually. Discus hobbyists are mad about keeping various species of it in aquariums and breeding them with the utmost of care but this doesn’t stop here, Discus fish have been so popular with enthusiasts that many new breeds of this fish have been created and are being sold in the market at exorbitant rates.
1. Mandarin Fish
The Mandarin Fish is a beautiful fish with rainbow colors, found in oceanic waters between Philippines and Australia. With its blatant beauty, there is no question of mistaking Mandarin Fish for some other fish or vice versa, such splendid is the uniqueness of its bodily beauty. The male Mandarins tend to be larger than the females with the males boasting a larger fin. Mandarin fishes are known to be at peace with other species and spend the day worrying over their food stocks and making arrangements for it! Feeding can be a particular problem with Mandarin Fish as they tend to be very sensitive about their appetite and do not eat just about anything! Mandarin Fish are very resistant to parasitic infections, thanks to the thick slime coating over their bodies. Mandarin Fish is considered the most beautiful fish of the world
