Ocean Facts
Picture of ocean stuff.

Description

The Silver Pearlfish (Encheliophis homei) is a very unusual fish with an out the ordinary lifestyle. During the day they spend their time inside the coelom of sea cucumbers, emerging to feed only at night. Being nocturnal they steer clear of light and will usually swim to the outer peripheries of ones dive lights, additionally because of their transparent nature and habit of swimming low and fast on the substrate they are difficult to pick out and to photograph. Numerically there do not appear to be many of them and they are not often seen. During the intermediate phase after transforming from larvae, they seek protection from the sea cucumbers and enter the coelom of the sea cucumber. During this stage they may be parasitic, but as they grow into adults so analysis of their stomach content shows that they feed on planktonic matter such as small Silver Pearlfish and crustaceans and the relationship with the host is commensal. This hypothesis is backed up by their teeth structure and they have a row of small teeth on the upper jaw and in the lower jaw the teeth are longer and slightly curved backwards which indicates a carnivorous lifestyle. They have been documented as making sounds, however the actual purpose of these sounds is unknown but may be used for territorial or mating purposes.