Rare goods in the fish tank-strange temperate marine fish

In most people's cognition, most colorful marine fish belong to tropical fish, while those cold water fish living in temperate and subtropical regions are gray or brown and look earthy. However, in fact, fish living in some temperate marine regions have elegant shapes and gorgeous body colors no less than tropical fish. The southern waters of Australia are one of them, where various beautiful cold water fish live. Among them are these temperate pufferfish that only inhabit southern Australia. Some of them are elegant and some are dorky. Let's take a look at these amazing cute little creatures...

Monacanthidae/Monacanthidae

Meuschenia

There are 8 species of this genus, all distributed in the waters of southern Australia and new Zealand. They mainly inhabit rocky reefs covered with algae and sponges along the coast or in estuaries. They feed on attached organisms on reefs and can be used as food fish. The fish of this genus have various blue stripes and stripes, which are very beautiful.

Meuschenia freycineti

Jervis Bay Marine Park, New South Wales

Meuschenia hipporepis

Flinders Island, Tasmania.

Blue striped equine puffer/ Meuschenia galii

Photo taken in Rapid Bay, South Australia

Acanthaluteres

There are three species of this genus. It is a small, brightly colored, single-spined puffer found in warm/subtropical waters from Sydney to Perth. It mainly inhabits shallow sea seaweed beds and seaweed forests. It likes to hide among algae to avoid predators and feeds on small mollusks and arthropods.

Acanthaluteres spilomelanurus

Port Phillip, Melbourne, Victoria

Acanthaluteres vittiger

Photo taken on Tasmania's Fishina Peninsula.

Brachaluteres

There are 4 species in this genus, Australia has 2 species, Taylor's short leather single thorn fish and Jackson short leather single thorn fish. The latter is distributed in the tropical waters of Queensland and northern New South Wales, while the former is distributed in the temperate waters from southeast to southwest Australia. The other two species are a very small single thorn fish in the tropical areas of the Red Sea and Japan. It inhabits in calm bays and shallow waters and generally moves near algae. The fish is round in shape. Similar to box fish, very cute in appearance

Brachaluteres jacksonianus

Port Phillip, Melbourne, Victoria

Juvenile Jackson short-leaved single thorn fish/ Brachaluteres jacksonianus

Port Phillip, Melbourne, Victoria

Monacanthurus/Eubalichthys

There are 6 species in this genus. It is endemic to Australia. It is a widely distributed warm/subtropical fish. Some species inhabit offshore and estuarine areas, while others inhabit rocky areas of deeper continental shelves. It has been feeding on small organisms.

Eubalichthys mosaicus

Botany Bay, Sydney, New South Wales

Monacanthus gunnii/ Eubalichthys gunnii

Port Phillip, Melbourne, Victoria

Puffer/Thamnaconus

This genus is widely distributed in the Pacific Ocean, of which there are 6 species in Australia, but only the German horse face fish is a warm/subtropical marine fish, this fish inhabits southern Australia, from Tasmania to southern Western Australia has its trace, this fish is light brown gray to light green gray with bright blue spots, generally inhabit the continental shelf.

Thamnaconus degeni

Taken in St Vincent's Bay, South Australia

Hexagonal pufferfish/Aracanidae

Hexagonal puffer/Anoplocapros

There are 3 species in this genus. It is endemic to Australia. It is distributed from New South Wales to West Australia. It has an oval body and a very hard texture. It inhabits deep water along the coast. It often appears near spongy reefs. It looks very cute and has box fish toxin.

Anoplocapros amygdaloides

Photo taken in Busselton, Western Australia

Hexagonal puffer without spines/ Anoplocapros inermis

Botany Bay, Sydney, New South Wales

Hexacularis leucogranulatus/Anoplocapros lenticularis

Taken on Rochester Island, Western Australia

Hexagonal puffer/Aracana

There are 2 species in this genus, which are endemic to Australia. They are distributed in temperate waters from Victoria, Tasmania to western Australia. They are round in shape and hard in texture. Their body color is extremely gorgeous. They were introduced into China as aquatic fish, commonly known as papaya. However, due to their bright body color, this fish is regarded as tropical fish in China. Almost all aquatic websites introducing this fish say that the water temperature at which this fish lives is 24-27 degrees Celsius. But in fact, the highest annual water temperature in this fish's native habitat does not even reach 20 degrees, resulting in this fish in China no one can feed and very small number…

Aracana aurita

Port Phillip, Melbourne, Victoria

Aracana ornata

Mornington Peninsula, Victoria

Tetraodontidae

Canthigaster

Most species of the genus Pufferfish are tropical, but one species in Oceania called the beautiful pufferfish is distributed in temperate subtropical waters of New South Wales and new Zealand, Australia. Its distinctive features are parallel dark stripes and white gaps extending from the lateral surface of the body. This fish mainly inhabits reef areas

Canthigaster callisterna, beautiful puffer fish, photographed at Halifax Park in Port Stevens, New South Wales

Acquainted to the tropical atmosphere of the Great Barrier Reef, but at the same time in the relatively cold southern Australia seaweed forest and full of sponge rock reef waters plus these beautiful small creatures have also succeeded in creating a kind of tropical coral reefs and tropical fish no less beautiful underwater world.