With their gleaming bodies, large eyes, and sharp teeth, they gaze intently at the sky, stalking their prey.

Its appearance speaks volumes about its nature as a hunter of the sea.

They swim gracefully, their dorsal fins undulating, sometimes forming large schools, silently keeping their eyes fixed in search of prey.

Largehead hairtail

Distribution: Temperate to tropical coastal areas

This carnivorous fish can grow to over 100 cm in length and inhabits depths of up to 350 meters. Adult fish often feed on anchovies and mysid shrimp, and they use their large, sharp, barbed canine teeth to catch their prey.

Until the hairtail fish arrive at the aquarium

① Fishing and collecting

We collect them by fishing in Tokyo Bay and Suruga Bay. To prevent their mouths from getting injured when they are caught, we usually flatten the barbs on the fishing hooks before using them. Since hairtail have no scales and are very delicate and easily injured, we carefully place them in large, deep containers, taking care not to touch their bodies at all.

② Transportation by live fish transport truck

Once 20 to 30 fish have been placed in containers, we return to port while carefully observing them on the boat. Some hairtail fish, whose swim bladders inflate due to the change in water pressure when being caught and which make it difficult for them to swim properly, may have the air in their swim bladders released using a special needle. After that, we transfer them one by one to the live fish transport vehicle at the aquarium using a specially made plastic net.

③ Transporting the fish into the display tanks.

During transport, medication is sometimes dissolved in the seawater to prevent pathogens from entering through small cuts or wounds on the hairtail's body. This is why the water inside the live fish transport vehicle is yellow. Then, the aquarium staff, wearing wetsuits, enter the transport vehicle and carefully pick up each fish one by one using a specially made net and transfer them to another container. After that, they are transported by elevator to the rooftop of the building where the aquarium is located, and successfully delivered.

【table of contents】
Facility Overview
Floor map and information
Free Wi-Fi and QR Translator Information
performance
Coral reef sea
Sunshine Lagoon
Jellyfish Space
A hairtail fish looking up at the sky
The Amazon River
From Water to Land: The World of Amphibians
The sea of clownfish and sea anemones
Sea Lion Oasis Square
Otters at the Water's Edge
Fountain of Sparkle
Penguins on the grassland
Penguins in the Sky