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 Scientific
name: Pomacanthidae
Usually swim alone or in pairs. These crescent shaped fish are
identified by their nearly continuous fins. When angelfish swim
among weeds their softly waving fins help them blend into their
surroundings. Young angelfish differ dramatically from adults
both in color and patterns.
Scientific name: Ephippidae
Also called spadefish, they are large and spade shaped. The juveniles
of these fish are very dark in coloration and fade dramatically
as they mature.
 Scientific
name: Chaetodontidae
Very colorful and graceful fish. Yellow and orange colors
are typical of most butterflyfish. Their bodies are flat, offering
them an effective means of camouflage. Their diet consists of
shrimp, crab, worms and algae. Bristly teeth line their small
mouths, which are adapted for reaching into and scraping reef
crevices.
Scientific name: Pseudochromidae
Small, slender fish with a long continuous dorsal fin. Generally
shy fish, they are very colorful and may be quite conspicuous
as they hover near shelter.
Scientific name: Epinephelinae
Large-mouthed, bulky, slow moving, bottom dwellers. They are "sequential
hermaphrodites", starting out life as females and changing
to males when they mature. This process may take as little as
one year in smaller species or as long as several years in larger
species, generally changing to males at seven to ten years of
age. Larger species of groupers, which can reach weights of 650
pounds and lengths of 13 feet, have no natural enemies. Smaller
species must rely on camouflage for defense, changing colors to
blend into their background.
Scientific name: Cirrhitidae
Small grouper-like fish. They get their name from their habit
of perching on the ends of coral branches.
Scientific name: Carangidae
The species at the Minnesota Zoo are golden trevally. Jacks live
symbiotically with larger fish. Adult golden trevally generally
accompany sharks or large groupers, feeding on their food scraps,
while tiny juveniles often live among the tentacles of jellyfish.
They are protected from their hosts by their small size and maneuverability
and from other predators by the presence of their host. Juveniles
have no teeth in their upper jaw and adults lack teeth entirely.
Scientific name: Chanidae
Silver schooling fish, resembling large sardines.
Scientific name: Monodactylidae
A silvery, schooling fish that usually occurs in estuaries and
sometimes in coastal reefs. They can live in both saltwater and
freshwater.
 Scientific
name: Muraenidae
Diverse group of eels that have large tooth filled mouths, they
have small gill openings and no pectoral or pelvic fins giving
them the appearance of a snake. Most species are short and muscular,
but some are long and ribbon-like. Generally nocturnal, they tend
to be docile and secretive, hiding in holes or crevices during
the day, but will bite if provoked. Moray eels are edible and
hunted throughout the world, but some individuals, especially
the larger ones, may be ciguatoxic. Ciguatoxin is a natural poison
that develops in some tropical reefs and infects certain fish
that feed on marine algae.
Scientific name: Plesiopidae
The species exhibited in the Minnesota Zoo's coral reef is a comet.
It is black with white spots and when alarmed it adopts a posture
in which its rear looks like the head of a young moray eel. Generally
they remain hidden during the day, venturing out around sunset.
Scientific name: Tetraodontidae
When threatened these fish have the ability to make themselves
swell up to about two or three times their normal size to scare
off enemies. They do this by gulping water into a specialized
chamber near the stomach. Puffers are well-known for harboring
one of nature's most powerful toxins, tetrodotoxin. While the
flesh is often safe for human consumption and even considered
a delicacy, eating improperly prepared puffers can be deadly.
Scientific name: Siganidae
They have a rounded snout and large cutting teeth, like the
"buck" teeth of a rabbit. They defend themselves with
venomous dorsal, anal, and pelvic spines. When people are poisoned
by fish, they may become very sick, with unpleasant effects including
numbness, paralysis, breathing problems, blood poisoning and even
death.
Scientific name: Scatophagidae
Lives in the harbors and estuaries of the Indo-west Pacific. Their
name , Scatophogus, literally meaning "feces eater",
is derived from the scats' habit of feeding on human waste.
Scientific name: Lutjanidae
Perch-like fish with large canine teeth in both jaws, feed mostly
on crustaceans. They are very important, in terms of commercial
fishing, in both tropical and subtropical regions.
Scientific name: Grammistidae
Small grouper-like fish that, when threatened, "lather up"
with a toxic mucus, grammistin, that makes them inedible. They
tend to be very shy, usually venturing out only at night.
Scientific name: Holocentridae
Usually red with large eyes and mouths. They are active at
night, feeding on crustaceans, worms and small fish. During the
day they rest in small caves and crevices or among branching coral.
 Scientific
name: Acanthuridae
Among the most conspicuous and abundant inhabitants of shallow
coral reefs. These fish are one of the few families of herbivorous
fish. Their name comes from the blade like spines, or "lancet"
near the base of the tail. Normally the lancet lies folded in
a groove, but when threatened, the surgeonfish will quickly flick
it out like a switchblade and thrash it's tail around. They are
capable of inflicting a deep and painful wound.
Scientific name: Haemulidae
Closely related to snappers, but have smaller mouths placed
lower on the head. Some species can "grunt" by grinding
their teeth and amplifying the noise with their gas bladder. Most
species are colorful and not timid, making them easy targets for
spearfishing.
Scientific name: Balistidae
They have three dorsal spines that they use as a weapon.
The front spine can be locked in an upright position by the second
smaller "trigger" spine that fits in a slot behind it.
The upright spine, which can do a lot of damage on a hungry predator,
can only be lowered by releasing the trigger. They have powerful
jaws and teeth capable of crushing or boring holes in hard-shelled
prey or pieces of coral. The female lays her eggs in a nest which
is then aggressively guarded by the male against predators. They've
even been known to attack and bite intrusive human divers.
 Scientific
name: Labridae
They vary greatly in form, color, and size, ranging from 3 inches
to 5 feet. These fish, use their powerful jaws to crush snails,
clams, crabs, and other shellfish. Wrasses often burrow into the
sand at night to sleep or when they are frightened. Certain smaller
species act in a symbiotic relationship with larger fish. They
set up a "cleaning station" at a designated area and
time. The larger fish allow the wrasses to swim about their bodies
and even in their mouths to eat parasites and fragments of left-over
food.
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