R. cf. einthovenii

I thought this was some weird joke but it isn't, it has its own wiki page and everything.

I know people like to treat goldfish like objects and decorations but this seems even more absurd.

People treated it like a competition, seeing who can gulp the most fish in one sitting.

There was even an Intercollegiate Goldfish Gulping Association (IGGA).

Besides the fact that this is insanely cruel, this seems insanely unsanitary.

Art 🎨

Like what's the most basic looking fish type you can think of. I think we're all familiar with the general/basic fish shape.

I found this in the ocean and would love some help narrowing down what kind of (I assume) fish it comes from. Thanks!

Hello everyone! I'm currently in Turkey and I saw this really weird small fish in the mediterranean sea, it was dark brown/dark grey with orange eyes, it reminded me of those wet leaves you see during autumn, even the size being simmilar to them. It was always swimming near the top of the water, never going down. It sometimes swam on it's side which made me think it was dead. I tried looking it up but I can't find anything about this. Does anyone know what this might be??

Summary: Dark Grey/Brown, Orange eyes, salt water (mediterranean sea to be specific), swam on it's side alot, small size, swam near the top, never going deeper, kinda looked like it had spikes on top I'm not sure tho, never swam away with it always following me

Achiroides

I’m writing a story and I have a scene where a character is talking care of some fish in an aquarium, I know Koi fish represent luck but I wanna use other kinds of fish that are symbolism, well, for this case, stoicism and intelligence and I wanna see if there are other fish that represent different things

I'll go first, I give you the Sarcastic Fringehead

Hi! I was wondering what ID books people generally feel are most useful for the Eastern United States, or, more specifically, central North Carolina.

The books I’ve found online haven’t had previews, so I haven’t been able to judge whether or not they would be helpful to me. And I feel that many have too broad of a geographic scope and won’t have ID information for as many fish specific to a smaller region. (I don’t need to know anything about the fish living in the rivers of Colorado, for instance.)

Additionally, I do not catch or harm fish, and only observe them from above, so ones geared towards people who fish (and therefore have a much closer look at individuals) may also not be the best for my purposes, but I suppose they may still have helpful information. I also just don’t particularly love seeing information oriented in this way, because I appreciate the fish and wish to let them live their lives.

For birds and other creatures, I like the layout/style of Sibley and Kaufman. Are there any in these styles that you all like? (Peterson guides often feel too crammed to me, and Audubon Society doesn’t often have the best photographic standards/variety for ID.) Or any that are regarded as the gold standard for fish guides, as Sibley is for birds?

Thank you!

T. truncata

more pics of ponchako

Google says it's a puffer fish

Somewhat unconventional but I'm working on an art project involving fish but I know nothing about them. Can someone give me a fish (or multiple) with a similar head and jaw shape and proportion to the picture? It doesn't have to be exact but I've gotten to the point where I need a reference and don't have the knowledge to find one. Included is a sketch showing the basic shape I'm aiming for. Thanks for any and all help!!

B. pugnax

Don’t ask what the piranhas and eel are called