The lookdown, Selene vomer, is a very interesting fish with a stunning appearance that changes throughout it’s life. Lookdowns are frequently available from Florida and Caribbean reef life suppliers but these are usually as medium to large sized fish which need a ton of open space for these active fish to stretch their fins. Occasionally, juvenile lookdowns do become available and their long flowing finnage makes them look like an exaggeration of the freshwater angelfish. Soon enough, captive raised lookdown fish will be released from Proaquatix who has raised Selene vomer before, but never released those offspring to the wider aquarium market. In the video above, you can see a large batch of Proaquatix’s captive raised lookdowns, doing their thing to swim in circles and gobbling up pelleted food. But what happens when a bunch of tiny fish with uber long trailing fins start swiming all over the place and in circles? We would have published just the first half of this video were it not for the almost-funny knot that forms from what appears to be the dorsal streamer of these tiny Selene vomer. We’re sure Proaquatix stepped in to undo the knot and the crop of lookdowns will none the worse for it. Besides taking to prepared foods, these captive raised lookdowns are much better candidates for captivity as they will come to learn the confines of their aquarium space much better than the large wild caught lookdowns. Proaquatix raises all the usual suspects in the ornamental trade such as clownfish, blennies, gobies, dottybacks and the first captive bred lookdowns should become available in about a month or so. Big thanks to Fabricio for sharing this video clip.
