Chihuahua Fish

By Rebecca Drew

MEET the fish that is the spitting image of zany cult 90’s cartoon character Ren from the Ren and Stimpy Show.

Stunning underwater shots of a small pufferfish who resembles a cute Chihuahua with its puppy dog eyes have been captured alongside his expressive pals.

The collection of impressive close-ups also shows a finding nemo clown fish hiding deep within the marine life, a flirty boxfish puckering up for the camera and a translucent bubble coral shrimp camouflaging itself into the reef.

Other macro shots show a brightly coloured mantis shrimp that appears to be wearing goggles and a host of fluorescent sea slugs.

The spectacular images were taken by Brazilian underwater photographer Marcelo Johan Ogata on his travels around the globe. Marcelo used an Olympus O-MD camera equipped with underwater housing to capture the shots.

“I have always been passionate about nature and its fine details, getting involved in photography is all about the colours shapes and textures of each element,” said Marcelo.

“I combined my scuba diving with my photography skills and finally became an underwater macro photographer.

“I have always been interested in small living beings such as insects, spiders and other tiny things.

“I’m interested in the things that people don’t pay much attention to, so I thought I would take super macro images of the faces, expressions and behaviours of these critters so that people can look at the images with a different point of view and understanding.”

There are thousands of different creatures that inhabit the world’s coral reefs, from fish, sponges, corals, clams and nudibranchs.

Marcelo says that the key to capturing his great shots is to have a lot of patience.

“Sometimes you place your camera in front of a tiny hole and you have to wait for ages for something to come out,” he said.

“A lot of the time, you only have one shot and it often goes blurry.

“I always say that my favourite picture is the next one I take.”

Click to license images.