Crested Sunfish

Crested Sunfish are large bony fish species that live in open oceans around the world of Ocearia. They are famous for producing so many offspring their predators, which are many, can't eat them all and the species has flourished massively. The fish has long been hunted for their meat, each fish is very large and can feed many people.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Crested Sunfish have a rounded body shape, with two large fins on the top and bottom of their bodies. They have a third fin, which sits on the back of its body, filling the gap between the two other fins. These bony fish have bright yellow scales, which fade into a whitish yellow in the centre of its body, on either side of its flat shape. Their beak is large, sitting on the opposite side of their back tail. Their eyes are large, sitting on each side of the flat body, helping them have a clearer vision of their environment, to help spot predators. The fish possess a large bony outcrop on their heads, which are used as defense against the abundance of predators that attempt to eat them. The crest has many spikes that the fish uses to stab at the predators.

Genetics and Reproduction

Crested sunfish are one of the few creatures to mate all year round. The female produces millions of eggs, which hatch after 4 weeks of incubation. The eggs are similar to frogspawn, floating along the surface of the ocean, under the close supervision of the parents. Sadly, a lot of the eggs are caught and eaten by seabirds and small fish that swim past the sunfish, and eat them unnoticed. Only 0.1% of eggs make it to hatching, which leaves about a thousand to hatch.

Growth Rate & Stages

The baby sunfish stay beside their mothers until they grow into adults. These babies are half a centimetre long when first born, and grow to half a metre long, before finally leaving the parents. It is easy to spot a parent sunfish and their babies, as giant congregations of the sunfish can easily be spotted from above and below water.

Ecology and Habitats

Crested sunfish are open water fish. They spend their days swimming close to the surface of the water, being pushed by the waves while they swim slowly. They are vulnerable to many predators, and use their spiky head to ram into the creatures, the buildup of energy from swimming so slowly gives them a very strong headbutt, which can even knock out the predator.
They also use their large, strong beaks to defend too, using it to bite enemies. The beaks are so strong, they have been seen to take massive bites out of other creatures.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Crested sunfish are filter feeders, they feed on plankton and zooplankton in the ocean. The oceans are full of plankton, and so never go hungry. They evolved to become filter feeders because the open ocean has a very limited plant food, and finding enough to feed them would be incredibly difficult. The sunfish filter feed through special mouths on the sides of their bodies, as they use their beaks for defense and couldn't filter feed with it.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

These sunfish have incredible eyesight, their giant eyes sat on each side of their bodies give them excellent peripheral vision. They can see up to a mile underwater, which gives them the ability to easily locate predators. These eyes work independantly from each other.

Geographic Distribution

• Ocearia

Hunting and exploitation

The many kingdoms in Ocearia hunt down crested sunfish. Their abundance and their size makes for a perfect main source of food. Hunting parties will go in search of these large fish, and bring them back dead to cooks to turn them into meals. The eggs of the sunfish are also used in meals too, grinded down to make a thick paste.