Unknown Fish
Posted July 7th, 2012 by Lifemarr
When I was snorkeling and underwater i saw an akward looking fish that looked like a mix of a srimp and a lionfish. It was about 2.5 inches long had all the black stripes and brown color to it. But it also had long shrimp-like legs and when i swam over it it took off so fast it made me jump. The speed reminded me of a hard shell crab, but faster. Also a strange thing was its fins were rounded off instead of the spiny fins of a lionfish. So any help of what it is whould be of great help.
Unknown fish
It sounds like a searobin. They have modified pectoral fins they use to walk across the bottom and search for food. You can search for images on line. Here is one I found quickly: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=searobin+image&view=detail&id=63166EA7A4C23BF0C34C92B2D9C20A89486C7107&first=1
There are numerous varieties of searobins, so if this one doesn't match the color pattern of the one you saw, it could still be a searobin. Here is an image I posted to another website that shows a leopard searobin: http://www.pbase.com/carol202/image/126814206. You can see the modified fins clearly that could be your "shrimp-like legs".
Carol