The Creator has made homes in the seas for more varieties of fish than we can count, both small and large. Some are very unusual looking, and many of them are outstandingly pretty.
The several varieties of angelfish are very pretty. They live mainly in the warm waters along the coasts of the West Indies and Florida. Several varieties are fished by commercial fishermen and sold to restaurants and fish markets, since most are good to eat.
Florida’s blue angelfish, for instance, is one of the outstanding beauties. It is deep blue on its entire back, with two blue ribbons surrounding its head, separated by a dark brown one. The bottom part of its body is an even more brilliant blue, and a blue and amber snout adds a little more to its beauty, as well as a brilliant fan-shaped yellow tail. It’s not difficult to see how it got its name.
One of the more striking ones is the clown angelfish. One variety of these has a light pink head and shoulders, but the rest of its body, all the way to its tail, is a deep orange marked with wide bands and a central bright green stripe that turns deep blue toward its tail. In addition to this, a huge fin on its back is deep blue, but a similar fin below is light orange with narrow blue stripes. Getting a close look at one of these would convince you that, with such a mixture of colors, it is well named.
Another very attractive variety is the queen angelfish. A typical one is a soft speckled green all over, except for an outstanding yellow tail and fins. It is also decorated with a narrow but bright red line all along its narrow top and stomach. There are about a dozen varieties in this group, most of them making their homes off the shores of Florida, but some venturing as far north as the New England coastline. When fully grown they are about two-feet long and are a good catch for anyone fishing.
The Bible tells us that on the fifth day of God’s creation He said: “Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life. . . . And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters [oceans, lakes and rivers] brought forth abundantly . . . and God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:20,2120And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 21And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:20‑21). When we see these and other wonders, how good it is to know the One who created it all and who still watches over them. He watches over you and me too.
SEPTEMBER 18, 1994
ML-09/18/1994