Mastodawn

Ainsley Oct 7, 2025

I find juvenile Atlantic Tripletails *(Lobotes surinamensis)* to be rather amusing. In most cases, a fish lying on its side on the surface of the water is not in good health, but the ocean sunfish will do that to entice birds to remove parasites from them. This fish was only about 6 inches long though, so I suspect that in this species the behavior is a form of camouflage-- perhaps mimicking dead leaves-- or perhaps temperature regulation, but I couldn't find anything definitive.

Link to iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/319068900

Source for ocean sunfish claim: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3460849/

#fish #marinebiology #ichthyology #texas #inaturalist

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AquaClaire Oct 8, 2025

@pirarucu This sounds interesting, although I have no expertise. Did you observe one fish or many, and what made you consider it/them to be in good health? What are the water conditions around the pipe in the photo?

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Ainsley Oct 8, 2025

@AquaClaire I only saw the one at the time, but I’ve seen many doing this before. As far as I’ve seen these fish are typically solitary or in small, loose groups. The behavior itself is well documented, I just can’t find a reasoning for it. I believe the fish was healthy because coloration, movement, and breathing were normal, and the fish was not bloated like a fish with swim bladder issues that cause floating would be.

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AquaClaire

@pirarucu Thanks for explaining this interesting observation; please post here if you find out more!

#fish #behavior #behaviour #tripletail #Lobotes