Blobfish

Blobfish Facts

Size	Up to 27 inch (70 cm)
Speed	Unknown
Weight	Up to 21 lb (9.5 kg)
Lifespan	Unknown
Food	Crustaceans, sea urchins, mollusks
Predators	No natural enemies
Habitat	Pacific
Order	Cottidae
Family	Psychrolutidae
Scientific name	Psychrolutes
Characteristics	Almost no muscles, gelatinous body

Main Characteristics

Blobfish are fish that live on the ocean floor of the South-West Pacific. They live at depths of 2,000-9,200 feet (600-2,800 meters). It’s pitch black and the pressure is so strong that no human could survive down there. That’s why we need special diving robots to explore these depths.

Blobfish Blobfish - Photo: [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Anatomy and Appearance

The blobfish’s body is made up of a slimy mass that can withstand the extraordinarily high pressure at the bottom of the ocean. It couldn’t survive at the surface. While it looks like a normal fish under water, its body collapses like a limp balloon if it isn’t under enough pressure.

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When it's caught by deep-sea fishermen, they take it from the bottom to the top. The closer the fish gets to the water surface, the less pressure is on its body. It inflates into a shapeless balloon. Unfortunately, it can't survive that.

The Biggest Blobfish

There are two kinds of fish in the blobfish family and the biggest is the psychrolutes phrictus, which can be up to 27 inch (70 cm) long and weigh up to 21 lb (9.5 kg). These fish live in the North Pacific up to 9,200 feet (2,800 meters) below the surface. The psychrolutes marcidus is considerably smaller at up to 12 inch (30 cm). It lives in the South-West Pacific at depths of up to 4,000 feet (1,200 meters).

Blobfish Blobfish - Photo: Val_Iva/Shutterstock