Fishy Father's Day Facts Show Marine Life to be Superdads!

Aquarists at SEA LIFE Blackpool have put together a list of fishy Father's Day facts to celebrate the remarkable role of dads in the marine world.

Expert team members will be on hand throughout the day to guide visitors through some of nature's most hard-working dads and to explain the fascinating functions they perform.
 
Matthew Titherington, general manager at SEA LIFE Blackpool, explained: “In the world's 'best dads' competitions, many of the top finalists are fish. Males are solo care-givers about nine times as often as females in the marine world.
 
"In fact, demonstrable prowess as a dad is something many fish females seem to find irresistible."
 
The list includes:
 

• Uniquely in the natural world, in the underwater kingdom of the seahorse, it's incredibly the male who gets to carry the eggs and gives birth to the babies. 

• A male emperor angelfish lives together with up to five female mates. If the emperor angelfish dies, one of the females turns into a male fish and becomes the dominant leader of the group. 

• Male anglerfish are much smaller than the female. While the female can reach up to 24 inches long, the males barely reach 1.6 inches long and live as parasites on their mates. They stay together for life. As the male ages, he gets smaller and smaller. However, the female anglerfish’s light is always 'on'. 

• Clownfish, the starring animal of the animated film about paternal love 'Finding Nemo', make brilliant parents in real life. 

• Clownfish dads clean the eggs until they hatch, and both parents fan the developing babies with their fins to provide them with a constant supply of oxygen-rich water to increase their chances of survival. 

• Clownfish are all born males and the dominant male of a group will turn female when the female of that group dies. 

• Other sea life that are known to change their gender include wrasses, which is a type of fish, and moray eels. 

Matthew Titherington added: “We're looking forward to welcoming a lot of dads and their families on Father's Day.  We can promise them a real treat as they learn about the amazing role dads play in the marine world."