The live marine exhibits at Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary are in the midst of a very productive fall with the arrival of a seasonal phenomenon known as Gulf Stream Orphans–or as they’re often called, GSOs.
As the waters around Cape Cod warm during the summer they attract and harbor a variety of sub-tropical fish species that wouldn’t normally make their way this far north. These GSOs, get swept up from the Gulf Stream as fry from their native southern habitats and appear north during the late summer and early fall. For most of these fish this trip north means certain demise come winter, but for a lucky few it means a life of luxury in our tanks and other aquaria in the region. Every year produces different GSOs but, so far, this year has gifted Wellfleet Bay with a blue runner, a beautiful and agile swimmer.
A GSO blue runner (photo by Zach Ouellette)
Among other GSOs that can be found this time of the year are a few other rare local species–among them, a crowd favorite, the lumpfish.
Cute young lumpfish attach to smooth surfaces with modified pelvic fins that look and act like little suction cups, allowing them to catch whatever planktonic food passes by.
A recent trip on the water produced nearly a dozen of these oddly adorable fish who are now living peacefully in the Exhibits Hall’s tray tank. The new specimens range in size from thumbnail to pinky nail, but they won’t stay that way for long. Last year’s lumpfish are already bigger than a softball! When they get too big for our tanks, I often try to trade them with another aquarium for a new specimen.
This lumpfish has grown a lot and may be ready for a bigger home (photo by Zach Ouellette).
The exhibits no doubt have the “cuteness” angle covered, but one of our saltwater tanks can also offer amazing camouflage puzzles. For instance, how many fish can you spot in this photo?
Look carefully! (photo by Zach Ouellette)
The answer is at the end of this post.
Other additions in our freshwater exhibit now include pumpkinseed sunfish, largemouth bass, white perch, painted turtles, and snapping turtles. When it’s too chilly or wet to walk a trail, we invite you to discover these lovely sea creatures for yourself in the sanctuary’s Nature Center.
Thanks to Wellfleet Bay’s aquarist Zach Ouellette, the fish tanks are clear and tranquil.
Answer to fish camouflage quiz: The two fish in the foreground are grubby (the left-hand grubby is a little hard to detect, next to the shell), or mottled sculpin. The fish front and center on the bottom is a longhorn sculpin. Directly above it is a tautog, and to the right of it is another grubby. And for the uber observant, the tannish wisp of a fin in the upper left side of the photo, behind the peat mound, belongs to a winter flounder!
Zach Ouellette has been maintaining and curating Wellfleet Bay’s marine displays for several years. He’s a lifelong aquarium enthusiast, a marine science graduate from the University of Connecticut at Avery Point, and a recreational lobsterman. You can read a previous post about Zach’s work, Will Travel for Fish.