Clearfin Lion fish

With the festive season behind us (perhaps with the exception of my anterior food storage unit which has grown a little over the last week or so) we return our focus to fish. We know what you like really. This weeks fish is a clearfin lion fish. Wishing you all a prosperous New Year from FOTW.

Merry Christmas

All of the FOTW team would like wish our extensive fan base a very merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
As always FOTW go to great lengths to get you the top underwater photos. Hilary is seen here in the latest PADI approved underwater Santa head gear.

Stone Fish

On my 90th odd dive I eventually saw one of these buggers. Up to this point I was beginning to believe there was a conspiracy amongst the dive world to make me believe that such things actually existed. This chap was pointed out to me by FOTW's wine correspondant (no reviews so far then John? Perhaps your pallete has yet to recover from the beatig it took with the Obileisk) on Yolanda Reef in Ras Mohamed National Park. Thanks, otherwise I would have probably sailed on by oblivious yet again.

Glass Fishes

In the interest of increasing fish throughput on FOTW this snap has been carefully selected by the editorial board. Shame about the videographer who mysteriously appeared from no where to spoil the overall effect.

Dory Snappers

These chaps were sptted recently swimming near to the Dunraven wreck. Commonly mistaken for the One Spot Sanppers, who also bear the distinctive black mark just below the rear section of the dorsal fin, but unlike the Dory rarely hang out in groups.

Forsters Hawkfish

This chap was either on the look out for a passing fish for lunch or maybe I posed a threat to his harem. Whatever, I got the eye.

Tobago Showcase - Hawksbill Turtle

Our final Tobago showcase offering, once again care of FOTW friends Katy and Gareth, is one of our old favourite the Hawksbill turtle. This one was caught whilst apparently have a quiet shit on a beautiful coral garden.

Tobago Showcase - Squirrel Fish

The third photograph in our tobago showcase is of a squirrel fish. His large eye suggests he is usually found out at night time and I bet he is a bit pissed off that some diver has stuck a camera and flash in his face. Nice photograph though. Thanks to our intrepid Cornwall FOTW branch for the Tobago snaps.

FOTW wine correspondant pulls own head off

Having been offered a glass of top Egyptian wine, John, FOTW's recently appointed wine correspondant was reported as saying "I would rather pull off my own head than drink Oboleisk". FOTW can now exclusively reveal that attempts were made to carry out the head removing threat in Abu el Sid restaurant in Sharm. Fortunately for fellow diners the blood splatter was not extensive.

Cleaner Wrasse to the rescue

Following FOTW's recent descent in blog murk we have sent in our very own super heros to clean up our act. Cleaner wrasse and his mates are seen here working on our illustrious fish current affairs editor and FOTW friend Amanda



Rumours that the wrasse seen above exited on the other side are totally untrue.

More filth from FOTW

Not content with 'bare arsed cheek' - see previous post - FOTW is proud to bring you our very own 'cheeky snorkeller'.

Use the comments facility to let us know whether you want more of this stuff or whether we should go back to fish?

Celebrate 100 dives with FOTW !

Well what an interesting view of Jorge, ace dive guide from the far east!

Rumour has it that possibly more than one of FOTW dive team will pass the hundred dive mark this week. So who knows ... maybe we will have more cheeky diver action on the site in the coming days. Keep watching.

FISH FOOD OF THE WEEK

There are some members of the FOTW team who would rather die than smell, let alone eat fish. Even the most die hard fish muncher would surely turn there nose up at this - dried squid on a Thai fish market. Yuk!

More Thai delicacies soon ...

Tobago Showcase - Sand Diver

Probably the ugliest critter to be featured on FOTW so far. Thanks to the FOTW team who recently visited Tobogo for snapping this one. If you have pictures of any ugly fish then please send them to the FOTW fish photo editor for consideration.

Tobago Showcase - Barracuda

Once again we are indebted to FOTW friends Katy and Gareth who have again been to far off places and brought back some stunning underwater images. This monster Barracuda is the first image in our Tobago showcase.

Emperor Angel fish

The Emperor of the Angel fish world. Unfortunately the buggers never stay still long enough to get a good picture, so the pursuit for my definitive Emperor Angel fish picture goes on......and while I am out getting it you will have to settle for a very slightly blurred image.

It is widely believed that this fish was named after the renowned dive school in Sharm el Sheikh. Crap, if it was it would be called a camel angel fish.

Snoozing fish

This charming character snoozzing patiently on a coral head typifies FOTW enthusiasts who are eagerly awaiting another photo from the recent FOTW trip to Thailland. Surely the scanned postcard of a turtle posted on FOTW recently was not the only image collected from a 2 week trip.

Bannerfish

Usually inseperable, these two bannerfish look like they have had words and are going their own seperate ways.

Bob the Crab

In the interest of species diversity, because we do not have a FOTW crustacian section as yet, but mainly because a two & a half year old called Mathew asked very nicely, here is a fantastic picture of 'Bob the crab'
"He was unceremoniously fished out of a rock pool on Filey Brigg last week, for Matthew to gawp at, before being carefully replaced in the rockpool. He then sat there giving us a very hard stare (see photo) before hiding away at the side of the pool out of reach of nosy beachcombers! " reports Auntie Cathy.
Well, speaking on behalf of the crab world, I am not surprised you got a hard stare. Just as well you had not found a Sting Ray to show young Mathew.

Lyretail Angelfish

This chap, or is it a lady, if I am not mistaken is Lyretail Angelfish. Any experts out there that have other thoughts, then I would be welcome to hear from you. The Lyretail changes from Female to male. Presumably it changes back at some point. It also changes colour. Not sure where this one is in its rather complicated sexual life.

A lesson for us all!

We at Fish of the Week mourn the passing of 'that loud mouth Australian bloke of the telly what died' but we have to say that you shouldn't have been messing with Stingrays. Our rule at fish of the week is look, take rubbish photos, try not to trash the reef with your tank, look cool and above all ....

DON'T EVER TOUCH ! (EVER!!)

So serves you right messing with nature - should have stuck to crocodiles.

Here's a picture of a blue spotted ray cruising for a chunk of Aussie Loudmouth in the Red Sea. Out of picture and not photgraphed is a FOTW diver pointing the ray in the right direction. Australians - don't you just love them.

Our other rule - 'don't wee in your Wet Suit (at least not on the boat)'. Do you have any diving rules - send them to FOTW or comment by clicking comment below - its easy.

Thailand Photo of the Week

This lovely turtle was spotted by FOTW 'Fish Affairs Corresponden't Pete at the famous Japanese Garden dive site in Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand.

Get very excited about upcoming pictures of a snake! How cool is that?

Peacock Grouper

This is the first time we have featured a Peacock grouper on FOTW. This chap kindly hauled up for a rest to allow me to come in close and take his mug shot.

Giant Moray

The beauty was spooted on a delightful little drift round Ras Um Sid. They obvioualy forgot what Sid was called when they named the headland, um..... Well, maybe not.
FOTW still awaits some exciting fish delights from Thailand.

Pete....Are you still alive?

Carpet Flathead

This gem was spotted by an eagle eyed FOTW photographer recently. Otherwise known as a crocodile fish (for obvious reasons), anyone know why its called a Carpet Flathead?

Whitespotted Pufferfish

First of the promised feature on Ras Katy, a much maligned dive (especially here on FOTW) but one of hidden beauties, if only you know where to look.

Happy Smiley Fish

The most content fish in the Red Sea. The constant grim from gill to gill is a dead give away.

Purple Jelly Fish

With Pete gadding off to collect fish photos for your delight I am left to keep you entertained until his return. Snorkelling off Naama Bay beach, these little blobs could be seen all over the place. Anyone know what they are? I doubt they are really called purple jelly fish.

Thai Fish Curry

Fish of the week watchers will have realised that veteran correspondent and Fish Affairs specilaist Pete has not posted for some time due to 'personal and professional' issues.

Anyway the drought is over and a crack team of FOTW divers, including a new trainee and a fish affairs correspondent is off to Koh Tao to take loads of fish pics for your viewing pleasure.

Back soon ...

Anemonefish

Well, the dust has settled on some pretty poor England performances, Rooney showing himself up for exactly what he is (an albeit talented yob), a resignation or two, some spawny (the only reference to fish I am intending to make in my closing world cup summary remarks) Italian goals (well maybe not the two that put out the Germans, hooray) and whats more Ronaldo (the Brazilian one) was attempting to impersonate the Blubber Baron (previously featured here on FOTW). Well, life goes on and I suspect these two anemonefish has been happily guarding their 'patch' whilst the world has been otherwise pre-occupied. I know which I wish I had been watching these last 4 weeks. One last thing, when you spell check FOTW it suggests you replace it with FOOTE. Spooky eh!

Indian Tubeworm

The feathery tenticles of this Indian tubeworm were spotted by FOTW divers recently. Nice composition.

Lined Butterflyfish

Well, after the inevitable stress yesterday evening of England playing in a World Cup finals match against a bunch of journey man 1st division players and some aged pensioned off ex-Man Utd pros dragged out of retirement, what better antedote than tropical fish gliding by. Here are two beauties for you. By the way, for those of you logging in from a far away coral reef England won with two late but also beauties from Crouch and Gerrard

Masked Pufferfish (at rest)

Another one from my extensive album of fishes rear ends. An occupational hazard in the world of fish photography. Next week Kylie....

FOTW would also like to reassure its readership that despite World Cup fever striking the FOTW offices it will continue to bring you the best shots from the marine world. No doubt our intrepid current affairs editor will bring us some excitting stories with a fish angle from the World Cup over the next month. By the way, my Guardian wall chart of UK fish has only temporarily been replaced with my Metro World Cup one.

Emperor Angelfish

Still not got my definitive picture of an Emperor Angelfish. This shot snapped recently in Ras Mofamed National Park in hte Red Sea is the best yet.

Red Sea Grouper

This fine specimen was seen hovering around Temple reef, waiting for lunch to swim past. Fortunately for me it did not have a taste for neoprene.

The Guardian jumps on FOTW bandwagon

Following the recent upsurge in interest in fish, spearheaded largely by the continuing efforts of the dedicated FOTW team, I was slightly surprised to find a comprehensive A1 wall chart depicting all of sea fish found around the British Isles, fall out of the middle section of yesterday's Guardian. More surprisingly, have scoured it closely, there was no spelling mistakes.
Although the mottly collection of specimens can not match up to their tropical cousins, we do have a some rather exotic ones like the Ocean Sunfish or John Dory for example, and when it comes to thin pointy things, our very own Garfish is much thinner and more pointy than your tropical needle variety. Anyone got any piccies of these lovely creatures?

Goat Fish

This shoal of Goat fish were spotted storming around Jackson Reef. Not as tasty as the cheesy wotsits recently spotted by Pete but more atractive.

Yummy yum yum . . Biscuits shaped like fish !

Hi Fish Lovers,

These lovely fishy crackers were spotted by a FOTW food correspondent in bar in Rouen, France en route a recent fact finding mission to St. Malo.

Not only were they yummy but they were free with a very reasonably priced glass of beer.

Fish of the Week- Blacktip Grouper

According to the Red Sea reef guide, this chap is readily identifiable by his dark bonnet like bit on the top of his head, and I thought he was a hawkfish, so that confirms I am no expert. Any way whatever he is, he's quite cute.

FIsh of the Week - Sling-jaw Wrasse

This sling-jaw wooshed past in a hurry to get somewhere. The female sling-jaw is all yellow and a bit smaller. Eats shrimps and crabs apparently, so that why I have never seen any in the Red Sea.

Fish of the Week - Napoleon Wrasse

This chap was spotted bumbling around Jackson Reef in the Tiran straits recently.

FOTW would like to thank the WWF (not the wrestling lot) for putting this most fabulous creature on its most endangered species list. FOTW are currently in negotiations with its ISP to prevent the FOTW website being accessible in Japan where the lips of these fish are considered a delicacy.

FOTW National Geographical Diver

FOTW would like to congratulate Hilary in becoming FOTW's most qualified diver having romped through the PADI National Geographical Diver course recently, even though buddy and FOTW friend Steph forget to take the slate on their underwater reef mapping dive.Well done to Steph as well who also passed. Hilary, pictured here in a post qualification dive can be seen adopting a classic dive pose whislt scouring the coral below for Parrot fish dropings and evidence of global warming.

Caption Competition Winner

Well done 'Ali Cat' for your entry to the FOTW caption competition which was voted unanimously (1-0) the winner (click on comments on the 12th March 2006 FOTW posting to see all the entries). Unfortunately prizes can not be awarded to anonymous entries so the next FOTW caption competition will be a rollover. Best of luck next time.

Fish of the Week - Cornet Fish

Apologies to regular visitors to FOTW for the lack of new postings. A select FOTW team have been back to the Red Sea to collect more spectacular images for you. Later on this month we will be featuring a special Ras Caty series. Yes, even Ras Caty is a rich source of underwater creatures.

Ferguson wants Divers Banned !!

Following recent comments in the press from Mr Alex Ferguson, Manager of Manchester United about banning divers, FOTW would like to reassure its web readership that this does not include Scuba. FOTW are pressing Manchester United for a further statement from Mr. Ferguson to clarifiy his position.

Didier Drogba, Chelsea striker and a scuba diver himself refused to comment to FOTW on the recent remarks of Mr. Ferguson, other than to say that some of the pitches he has played on recntly have been quite slippy.

TURTLE OF THE WEEK - Hawksbill Turtle

With the first anniversary of FOTW rapidly approaching we are pleased to announce that changes to FOTW format are a foot. In addition to accessing our renouned FOTW photo blog there will be lots more interesting stuff, including a space where you can post your own photos directly. More news to follow as hasty developments develop.
This Hawkbill Turtle has been cut and pasted from my underwater rear-end photo album. I suspect Babs will be making more comments....who are you anyway? You may have to reveal your identiy if you win the caption competition (closing date 31st March 2006) and want to collect your prize.

FISH OF THE WEEK - Blue Spotted Eagle Ray

This Blue spotted eagle ray was seem struggling up this underwater hill recently in a warm and sunny place which I can only dream about at the moment....... Don't forget the FOTW caption competition runs till the 31st March so keep you captions coming. Thanks to every one who has already sent one in. Babs (Windosor) who ever you are, can I suggest you seek help....

FOTW Caption Competition

To win an exclusive FOTW T-shirt submit your caption suggestions by sending a comment below.

JLHE of FOTW is seen here in a swanky restaurant in Sharm el Sheikh.

The winner will be announced on 31st March 2006 on FOTW.

Reef of the Week ???

Another offering for the Reef of the Week series I think.

Fish from Fiji - Black Tipped Reef Shark at 'The Supermarket'

The final photograph in our Fiji showcase is a first for FOTW for a number of reasons. This excellent impressionist image is not only the first Black Tipped Reef Shark on FOTW but is the first FOTW photograph taken in a supermarket. Don't all rush you fishmongers out there. Photograph by FOTW friends Katy and Gareth once again.

WOW! - that's a big one .....

Not having had enough of big fish, stuff what with the whale a few weeks ago London is now home to the largest squid ever captured. You can find her at the Natural History museum in South Kensington and shes free to see.

We at FOTW say 'she' but a museum spokesman said thay couldn't categorically say she was a she .... but as there was no evidence of a penis they were sticking with female. The spokesperson went on to add that the penis of a male gaint squid is generally about 90cms in length.

Fish from Fiji - Matamanoa Reef in Fiji

Our second photgraph in our Fiji showcase is of Matamanoa Reef. Nice reef but where have all the fish gone. Defintely a candidate for 'Reef of the Week' though. Photograph by FOTW friends Katy and Gareth of course.