Oceans 4Ever

We originally saw this week’s FFF star on Blogfish (thanks, Mark) and it’s been one of the most e-mailed videos of the week according to Yahoo! But for those of you not paying attention to fishy matters or if you just didn’t have time for eerily lifelike swimming of a synthetic silver and blue carpish fish, here is what we’ve been calling RoboFEESH all week, again, with some facts:

1) This fish was developed by British scientists at Essex University, and are being tested at the London Aquarium in the video below.

2) Researchers plan to test the first 5 robot fish in the port of Gijon off the northern coast of Spain next year, to see if they can detect dangerous pollution in the water from things such as leaks in underground piplelines.

3) If the Robofish pass their test, they could be used in lakes and rivers all over the world in an effort to tame and reduce pollution in bodies of water.

4) These fish swim on their own with no remote control, and use chemical sensors to find pollution. When they find it, they transmit data back to researchers’ computers via a Wifi connection.

5) Each fish costs about $29,000 US, so NO, Alexa won’t be getting one as a pet no matter how badly she wants one.

First, check out the fish, then keep reading.

Cool, you must admit!

So now, O4E has some questions for our scientist/conservationist friends, and anyone:

-What do you think about this robot fish “living” in the natural habitat of real fish?

-Do you think it is going to be a helpful invention or a harmful intrusion to the ecosystems it works in? For example, we wonder if a predator will ingest one. What then?

Let’s discuss.

Have a great weekend!

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We’ve been waiting and we just can’t wait anymore!

O4E is officially addicted to contests, so, without further hesitation, here’s our second contest, and the reason why we’ve waited until now to announce the first contest’s winners (below).

Contest-amundo number two is another easy one to enter, but it’s going to be a short one!

Between now and midnight, Monday, 3/30, all you have to do to earn an entry is leave a comment on this post on what your favorite ocean animal is and why. yes, we already know this very well for some of you! You can enter multiple times and detail second- and third, etc. favorite creatures, too. That’s it!

What do you win for your efforts, you ask? Your own copy of OCEANOPOLY, of course!

This game was given to Alexa by her dear aunt, uncle and cousins for her birthday last year. Once we cleared the dining room table for our first take-no-prisoners quest to acquire land and oceans via hopping our cast-metal sea creatures around the board, we were hooked. Just make sure you have a good banker! (This game is recommended for ages 8 and up.)

Here are the official contest rules:

*Enter your favorite sea creature in a comment on this post for an entry
*Enter as many times as you like
*Entries close at midnight, Monday, 3/30
*Winner will be chosen and notified by email on 3/31
*Note: winner must respond to prize notification email within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen

And now for an update on launch week contest: first, THANK YOU for making our first contest such a huge success!

We had a lot of entries, and winner number one is…Tim. Thanks for entering, Tim!

Winner number two – where are you? We’re still waiting to hear from winner number two, so if you are reading this, give us a shout – and we’ll keep in on the low. (hint, hint)

Also, if we do not hear from winner number two by the end of this week, guess what? We’ll draw again on Saturday evening, 3/28, before Earth Hour and let you know of the alternate winner after we turn the power back on (more on that coming up).

Ready, set, GO! Tell us your fave sea creature and why, then tell us in a comment on this post.

Good luck!

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We first met Blondie, the New England Aquarium’s adorable and talented young lumpfish, when we were casting for our first Freaky Fish Friday. We fell in love with her right away, and had to know more when we saw a video of Lindsay, one of the aquarium’s marine mammal trainers, teaching her to swim through a hoop.

Alexa refused to put Blondie into the ‘Freaky’ club, but she did have lots of questions for Lindsay.

First, watch Lindsay teach Blondie how to swim through a hoop, then check out Alexa’s interview with her for some tips on fish training at home!

Alexa: Why did you choose Blondie to train?

Lindsay: Blondie picked me!

When we first decided to work with the lumpfish, they didn’t have names. She was staring intently at me and I thought, “You are so pretty and light in color; I will call you, Blondie.” We became fast friends.

A: Are lumpfish smarter than other kinds of fish?

L: I wouldn’t say lumpfish are smarter than any other fish, but they are visual and that helps with focus during training sessions. You have their attention as soon as you walk up to their tank!

A: Did you know it would be this easy, or were you surprised?

L: I was a little surprised, as my training experience is with marine mammals. I was impressed at how fast she caught on to the different behaviors.

A: How long have you been training fish?

L: Since October 2008; I’ve been training seals for a couple of years, though.

A: Can people train their fish at home? If so, is it choosing the right fish, or can anyone try?

L: People can definitely train at home! All animals are trainable if you learn about their habitat and behavior. For example, some fish aren’t as visual as lumpfish so you might have to splash the water or move something in the tank to get their attention.

A: If training at home is not difficult, can you give some tips?

L: I would suggest checking out the R2 Fish Training School. This is a wonderfully informative kit that has really neat training tools. They do a great job of explaining how to use the kit and the best method of training (positive reinforcement).

A: Can you tell us a little about lumpfish?

L: They are benthic, cold water fish that are not your “typical” looking fish. Their pectoral fins have modified over the years to a suction “cup” and they use this to stick on to hard surfaces of rocks and other flat underwater surfaces. They don’t have scales, but have a rigid lumpy body instead.

They are also wicked cute.

Our thoughts, exactly!

You can check out more of Lindsay teaching Blondie other amazing behaviors on the aquarium’s Marine Mammal Trainer’s Blog.

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