Redfish

The Redfish is notorious as a bottom feeding animal.  However, it can also be seen on the surface, feeding on schools of fingerling baitfish.  It prefers shallow grass beds and and structures where small fish and crustaceans are abundant.  There was a drastic decline in Red Drum populations in the late sixties and early seventies.  Through conservation efforts the species has once again reached abundant levels.  The first hatchery established to restock the Redfish population was here in Texas near Port O'Conner.  In 1983, they released 2.3 million fingerlings into the San Antonio Bay.  This is an amazing sport fish to pursue. The only three truly unique feature this animal possesses is its prominent spot or multiple spots on the dorsal edge of the tail fin.  It does have strong jaws and the ability to grind its food, aiding in the consumption of mollusks and crustaceans .  Its unique behavioral feature is that this fish likes to dig its nose into the sandy ocean bottoms, allowing its tail to splash the top of the water, known as "tailing".  The Texas Wild exhibit has on display 5 Redfish.  They are typically a schooling fish which allows them to be more efficient during feeding.  Typically Redfish like to corral their prey into the shallows and feed in waves.This is a feisty, fun fish to pursue on regular fishing tackle or a fly rod.  They are amazing fighters.  Due to continued conservation efforts, the Redfish is continuing its resurgence in the wild.  The exhibit at the Ft. Worth Zoo contains five fish in varying stages of maturity.  The immature fish typically contain four or five spots on their tail section whereas the mature fish typically have only one.

 

Sergeant - Major Fish

The Sergeant Major Fish can grow up  which is a relatively large damsel fish.  It is not suprising to see this bright beautiful fish grow to 6 or 7 inches in total length.  It's generally lively colored and laterally compressed with upper body being yellow, occassionally with shades of blue.  The lower body of the fish is white with shades of gray.  These black vertical stripes narrows towards the belly, with a dark spot at the base of the pectoral fin.  They have a small terminal mouth, a single nasal opening on each side of the head and a single continuous dorsal fin.
This species is a coral reef fish that is found in many reefs in the Atlantic Ocean.  They are common in tropical and subtropical shallows all over the world.  This fish adopted its name sergeant major because of the five black bars that resemble the insignia of that rank in the military services.  The Sergeant Major fish scientific name is Abudefduf saxatilis.  This scientific name stands for Abudefduf - father, saxa - living among rocks, tilus - tile-like in color.  The reason it is called father is because it is aggressive and bossy to the other inhabitants of a reef. The Sergeant Major fish really doesn't have any special adaptions except for its aggressiveness and  determining sexes - if male or female species. 
During the months of April - August mating occurs and territories are established for reproduction.  This is when  the male is extremely territorial .  Also, during mating the male of the species becomes deep blue (note the blue fish in the photo below).  Other than waiting for mating season it is really hard to determine males from females and vice versa.  Many damsel fish change sex over their lifetimes, beginning as male, and then as they grow, become female.

Alligator Gar

         
An adult alligator gar can reach lengths of up to eight feet and can weigh in excess of 302 pounds. It has a long and slender body which is covered in bony scales. Its anal and dorsal fins are located rearward and are nearly opposite of each other. It has a long snout which consists of two rows of sharp teeth, making it easy to tell it apart from the other gars. Its colors range from brown to olive on the top portion of its body, to lighter colors on the underside.Lepisosteus is a Greek term meaning "bony scale", and spatula is the Latin word for "spoon". The most noticable part of the gars body is the elongated snout. This menacing looking fixture contains two rows of teeth which are used in shredding their victims. Its prime source for food is catfish if available; if not they are not shy of chomping down on almost anything. This fish is often referred to as a "trash fish", because of its choice of brackish water and its willingness to try to eat just about anything. The alligator gar, however, is a dominant species in its habitat, for no other creature can tackle its size.  An alligator gar's buoyancy bladder is connected directly to its throat, giving it the ability to breathe air above the surface of the water. Because of this benefit, the gar has a dangerous habit of basking near the surface. This is a danger because of the ease in which bowhunters can catch this interesting fish.I have had some experience with this fish, for I have caught a few myself (the smaller ones of course). One of these even had part of a license plate and a sliver of a soda can caught in its jaws, setting an example of this animal's sharp bite and willingness to eat, or at least attempt to eat, just about anything. As evil as they might look at first sight though, they are quite fascinating to watch. They will sit near the surface for long periods of time giving the viewer a chance to see the entire animal.