One of the biggest transformations to the Giant Ocean Tank has been the addition of hundreds of new coral formations that are perfectly suited to the smaller fish species that have been selected for the exhibit, like these sergeant majors. [These fish are featured in a video at the bottom of this post, make sure you scroll to the bottom so you don't miss it!]

Sergeant major

These small species are often territorial, and once they are introduced to the exhibit they will stake out a claim to an area of coral and defend it against intruders. Fortunately, their new place has plenty of cozy real estate. There are so many hiding places, in fact, that the divers have to use a flashlight to search the crevices so they can check up on the smaller fishes in the exhibit. Here's Dan getting a good look at some of the newly added wrasses.

Diver Dan

Better yet, this is some great news for visitors. These smaller species may be hiding, but the exhibit has been designed so their hiding places are often very close to the viewing windows. That means in addition to the bigger animals in the exhibit, you'll also get a close up look at some of the smaller fishes as you wind your way around the spiral.

Foureye butterflyfish

Compared to previous years, there are now more than twice the number of animals in the big tank, thanks to the added capacity for smaller fishes.

Bluehead (wrasse)

Sharpnose puffer

Barred hamlet

-- Chris

Find out how these hiding places were created. Head to the artist's studio to see coral construction in the midst of the Aquarium's transformation last winter. And see pictures of the corals being installed in the dry Giant Ocean Tank in the spring.

Well, here goes my first blog...

After a queasy crossing from Miami to Bimini and some time for my stomach to settle, we went for the first of what I hope to be 20+ dives. The location was Bimini Road--a shallow dive for everyone to check out their gear and get comfortable in the water. It was a short dive of just about a half hour, but in that brief time I was lucky enough to see lots of our targeted collecting fishes along with a Southern sting ray and the first shark of the trip- a Nurse shark about 6’ long. I have been diving a few years, but only in Massachusetts waters and the GOT--this little dive was by the far the best of my life!

After a short surface interval and tank change, we went back in for our first collecting dive. My partners were Sam Benton of NEAQ, and Suzanne Rose, a veteran of several collecting trips and NEAQ volunteer. Those two were fantastic! We seemed to click as a team right away and were fortunate to collect nine keepers. Among the species were Bluehead wrasse, Slippery dicks, Foureye butterflyfish, sharpnose puffer and a parrot fish. That dive then replaced the first check-out dive as my best dive ever.

That’s all for now...more to follow.
-- Jim


Jim geared up for a dive!

This is the first entry in a series we're going to call: "Our Reef Residents." Each entry will profile one of the species in the Giant Ocean Tank's tropical reef!

This entry is the bluehead wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum). Blueheads live in the tropics and are found around coral reefs and in seagrass beds. We collected several specimens (along with blackear, bluehead, dwarf, rainbow, and yellowhead wrasses) on the recent Bahamas Collecting Expedition.

Wrasses are fast swimmers and it is an exhausting process to catch them underwater. Although challenging, it is worth the extra effort to bring these beautiful fishes home to Boston and introduce them to the Giant Ocean Tank.

Wrasses belong to the Family Labridae which contains over 600 different species. Many members of this family, like the bluehead, have an interesting reproductive biology. Blueheads are typically born female. Males are produced when a female sexually reverses after a dominant male is predated upon or dies. This process is called protogyny. The "supermale" wrasse maintains reproductive control over a smaller group of females, or harem, while also keeping geographical control over a certain area. The male has striking coloration and is referred to as a terminal phase male.

Females are less brightly colored and are called initial phase wrasses. Occasionally, a bluehead will be born male; it is also considered an initial phase wrasse. These smaller males will never become dominant and will not change sex. They are also called "sneaker" or "streaker" males because they quickly move into a supermale's territory to mate with his females. This helps to ensure a high level of genetic diversity. Blueheads are pelagic spawners and release eggs into the water column for dispersal by ocean currents.

The illustration above shows both the terminal phase and initial phase of the bluehead wrasse. The terminal phase bluehead has a bright blue head, two vertical black bars separated by a white bar, and yellowish-green body. It can grow up to six inches long. The initial phase bluehead pictured is a juvenile and has a yellow back, white underside, and black spot on its dorsal fin. The appearance of initial phase blueheads varies depending on the age of the wrasse and its geographic location. They range from one to four inches in length. Both the terminal phase and initial phase blueheads reside in the Giant Ocean Tank here at the New England Aquarium.

-Sarah