The Dr. Seuss Soapfish,Belonoperca pylei,brings back so many fond memories. I have never been more excited about a fish than I am on the arrival of this one. My first encounter with this fish was back in 2006 when Greg Schiemer showed me one at Absolutely Fish in Clifton, New Jersey. I had never seen one before and did not know what to expect. Back then there were no photographs ofBelonoperca pyleion the internet or in published literature.
This has been a great year for this fish as three have been collected—the first Dr. Seuss Fish was collected in March in surprisingly shallow water and shipped to Aqua Stage 21 in Japan. In April another one was collected and it found its way to Japan as well. The great news is that the thirdBelonoperca pyleifound its way into the United States.
Russo礁的Joe Russo要求第二个标本，但该收藏家被迫将其运送到日本。在收集后，鱼没有在收藏家的设施中喂食，并且对其健康的关注发现有必要尽快将其运送到日本。乔的命令不会再运送一周左右，否则鱼也会进入美国。5月，乔收到通知，他们还有另一个Belonoperca pyleiand without hesitation placed his order, conditioned the fish in his facility before shipping it forward toLiveAquaria.
Today the fish resides at Drs. Foster and Smith’s Aquaculture Coral and Marine Life Facility in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, where it happily lives under the watchful eyes of Kevin Kohen and his crew of expert aquarists. The fish has been in quarantine for more than three weeks and is now fully conditioned, and very responsive when being fed and attentive with those that interact with it. ThisBelonoperca pyleihas adapted well to captivity and if your pockets are large enough you can have this incredible fish for $5,999.99. Heads up everyoneLiveAquaria将宣布出售这种3½至3¾英寸的鱼DiversDensection on Friday, so get ready!
I will have more detailed information on this fish, the history ofBelonoperca pylei, captive care, and how Richard Pyle discovered it in an upcoming article, I will keep you posted. Just follow me onFaceBookI would like to thank Kevin Kohen for the incredible photos he provided—under my constant pressure—for this post.
