The secret behind clownfish stripes and more fishy fascinations
5/4/202613 min
We reeled in science reporter Ari Daniel for this episode who grants us three wishes in the form of three fishes. He takes us on a trip around the world to learn about how a clownfish in the western Pacific loses its stripes as it grows up just to fit in, a fat French fry of a fish that can scale a 50-foot rockface in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the remarkable rearing of a pea-sized Pokémon-like fish at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Together, these stories reveal just how remarkable and diverse these unassuming creatures are.
If you liked this episode, check out our Sea Camp series.
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First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
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Regina Barber· Host0:21
Hey there, Short Wavers. It's Regina Barber, and today we're going underwater with science reporter Ari Daniel. Hey, Ari.
Ari Daniel· Guest0:29
Hi, Regina.
Regina Barber· Host0:30
So what do you have for us today?
Ari Daniel· Guest0:32
Well, I want you to think of me in this episode as your, let's say, fairy godfather- [laughs] ... who's about to grant you three fishes.
Regina Barber· Host0:41
I love this already. Okay. Where are we starting?
Ari Daniel· Guest0:44
We're gonna go to the Western Pacific among the tentacles of a certain kind of anemone called the bubble-tip anemone.
Regina Barber· Host0:52
Are, are we talking about clownfish?
Ari Daniel· Guest0:54
Bingo.
Regina Barber· Host0:55
Yes.
Ari Daniel· Guest0:56
Clownfish are those splashes of color that you find in the sea and aquaria and of course- Finding Nemo ... Finding Nemo. [laughs] Are you losing it?
Regina Barber· Host1:05
No.
Ari Daniel· Guest1:05
How many stripes do I have?
Regina Barber· Host1:06
I'm fine.
Ari Daniel· Guest1:07
Answer the stripe question.
Regina Barber· Host1:08
Three.
Ari Daniel· Guest1:08
No. See, something's wrong with you. I have one, two, three. That's all I have? Oh, you're okay.
Regina Barber· Host1:14
Marlin is me. I am, like, always worried about my baby. [laughs] Um, I love this m- I've seen it so many times.
Ari Daniel· Guest1:20
Me too. I... In fact, I just re-watched it with my kids. Now, there are different kinds of clownfish. There's the Nemo kind, of course, but I wanna tell you- Mm-hmm ... about a mystery