The tides in late March are amongst the largest of the year. The largest variations in the month occur over the weekend of the 8th and 9th. Four days after the Vernal Equinox that occurs on 20 March 1997 the low spring tides will recede a long way and if you are lucky with the weather, this is one of the most interesting times to explore the margins of land and sea for the short time that the tide is out. A simple enough question on first thoughts of the Common Goldfish, but aquarist know that fish come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and that many animals like the shellfish, crayfish and starfish are not fish in the normal use of the word. This statement should not be dismissed out of hand, as the sharks, rays and related animals evolved into existence as a class of aquatic vertebrates called the Chondrichthyes, with a cartilaginous skeleton, about 360 million years ago.
True fish have a skeleton made of bone and are classified in a class called Osteichthyes.
These are the fish kept by 99 per cent of aquarists. The word 'fish' is not a technical scientific term, but a general word that can be defined as 'a limbless vertebrate with fins and gills that swims in water'. Corkwing Wrasse are fish of the kelp forest and weedy areas. They are experts at sliding through dense weed cover. When alarmed the pectorals beat rapidly and the long dorsal is folded down to reduce drag as the wrasse dives for the nearest cover.