The greedy rockling

Photo and text : Rudolf  Svensen

I live very close to the sea, and in the winter time, I dress in my basement and make night dives on the beach in front of my house every week. Last winter I was on my way back to the beach, when I spotted a dead fish with a sea star on with my torch. I swam closer and could see that a tail was coming out of the mouth of the dead rockling. The Five-bearded Rockling had tried to swallow the fish but it had been to large and the rockling had been choked by the other fish.

I wanted to take some more images of the two dead fishes, so I grabbed the tail and pulled a Longspined Sea Scorpion out of the rocklings mouth. I started to take pictures but I thought the Sea Scorpion looked alive so I gently took it by the tail and shook it a bit, it took off swimming like it had the rockling on its tail and I never saw it again.

I guess when the rockling tried to swallow it, it use the spines on its head to prevent it from been swallowed. The rockling died but the Sea Scorpion was still alive but trapped. The sea star could smell the dead fish and came to fest on the dead fish. Then I came along and rescued the little fish. I guess it was its lucky day after all.
 

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