What is this??

[Fishman01]

I was snorkeling on Mexico beach and I looked down and saw this guy swimming around me. I caught him and put him in my tank. I was sure it was a remora or shark sucker but it has no suction.



Does anyone know what it is?

 

[bettaowner]

It looks like a goby or a cling fish. It's really hard to tell

 

[Fishman01]

It looks like a goby or a cling fish. It's really hard to tell

I don't know either. Do you think it could but a juvenile shark sucker that hasn't developed a sucker yet?

 

[bettaowner]

It could be a remora ( shark sucker). The tail is rounded so that's why I thought it was a goby

 

[bettaowner]

Try google lotilia graciliosa. That's what this fish looks like

 

[Tony Gill]

It's a little tricky to tell from your photo, but I am pretty confident it's a juvenile Malacanthus. Do an image search on "Malacanthus juvenile" and see if it looks close.

Tony

 

[Tony Gill]

I just checked and found there's also this video for comparison: Juvenile Blue blanquillo (Malacanthus latovittatus) hovering underwater in Fiji Islands - 2331917 | Shutterstock Footage.

Tony

 

[bettaowner]

I think you're right.

 

[Tony Gill]

The other fish that comes to mind (and from a completely different family, but one more closely related to remoras) is Rachycentron - cobia or black kingfish. Again, do a search on Rachycentron juvenile to see if it looks close. This site has some photos of small juveniles: ScienceFish - Cobia Hope these two guesses help.

Tony

 

[Tony Gill]

Yes, I realised you were not in the Indo-Pacific, but there are malacanthids still in your area. On seeing your new photo, I'm now leaning more towards my second guess.

Tony