A close relative of the Whitespotted Filefish, the Fringed Filefish (Monacanthus ciliatus) is much smaller and lives a completely different existence. As seen in this design print, it often hangs around soft corals, hiding among their branches for cover and relying on its ability to change colour and become well-camouflaged if it chooses. This seems to be an effective strategy as it is quite a challenge to find one, and most divers and snorkellers probably don’t even know they exist. They are also common on sea grass beds, where they usually adopt a green colouration and hide among Turtle Grass blades….again, any divers or snorkellers probably pass them by unaware they are there. This is a good reminder to look carefully around you when visiting the underwater world, as the sheer diversity and amazing detail possible to observe never ceases to amaze!
The Fringed Filefish, with its long, pointy, and rather cute-looking face, feeds on small invertebrates such as shrimps and worms. Interestingly, each male is usually associated with a number of females who lay concealed clutches of eggs that are fertilised by the male and then guarded by one of the parents until they hatch. What good parenting!
About Reef Creature Clothing
We specialise in not only coral reef inspired athleisure wear, but also beach & swim wear, and other printed products. All our colourful and vibrant designs are made using digitally enhanced prints of real underwater photographs taken in the Caribbean. We donate all of our profits after costs to The Coral Reef Research Hub, a small non-profit organisation that seeks to help fund research projects undertaken by early career coral reef scientists. The projects funded are those that aim to contribute information that will hopefully lead to legislative change, and thus help to protect coral reefs and their associated resources for generations to come!
We write these regular ‘creature features’ to help you learn more about the fascinating inhabitants of the coral reefs where our images came from. More will continue to be posted over the coming months so watch this space!