Practice English Speaking&Listening with: Fishes Feeding - Reef Life of the Andaman - Part 19

The jellyfish's sting is no guarantee of its own survival.

This Australian spotted jellyfish at Racha Yai

comes under attack from a scrawled filefish.

Once a jellyfish has lost its defenses, a free-for-all invariably ensues.

Rainbow runners dart by,

but this feeding frenzy like many others is led by streaked spinefoots.

Although the opportunistic spinefoots have a taste for jellyfishes,

they are normally herbivores.

Here they join a shoal of Singapore parrotfish in search of food.

The top of the reef is covered in a layer of nutritious algae

which the marauders devour en masse.

Here at East of Eden bluefin trevally team up with goldsaddle goatfish

to hunt the reef for small fishes.

Smalltooth emperors join the gang too.

The emperors' skin takes on dark blotches while feeding,

but soon fades to a neutral color when the fish resume swimming.

At Racha Noi this school of mullet makes an impressive sight.

In rapid time the fish scoops a mouthful of sand from the seabed,

filters out edible organic matter, and then spits out the unwanted sand.

The defensive tactics of titan triggerfish when protecting their nest

have won the respect of many divers.

When feeding they can be an impressive sight too,

their powerful jaws enabling them to tackle even large chunks of stony coral.

On the wonderful plateau south of Koh Tachai

this triggerfish's feeding has attracted an array of hangers-on

that would do any aquarium proud.

Everything from tangs to moorish idols joins the throng,

hoping to pick up some of the triggerfish's scraps

or find some food for themselves.

The discovery of this broken mussel at Anemone Reef

has sparked another feeding frenzy

and a similar variety of reef fishes get involved in the scrap.

Blackspotted puffers often stand by at such gatherings.

Their lack of agility and awkward shape

put them at a disadvantage to other fishes.

Here at Richelieu Rock, however, this blackspotted puffer has less competition

and pecks away at the base of a small anemone while avoiding its sting.

The pufferfish retracts it's lips as it bites

so only its bony beak makes contact.

Trumpetfish often ride above a larger host such as this porcupinefish,

allowing them to sneak up on small prey such as damselfishes

that are not preyed upon by the larger host itself.

Trumpetfish sometimes craftily conceal themselves within a school of fish

such as these yellowfin goatfish.

The trumpetfish is much faster than the goatfish

and can lunge out of the school to catch unsuspecting prey.

Banded sea kraits are one of the most venomous creatures on the planet...