Redfin Gillcrest

The redfin gillcrest split from its ancestor and has become smaller. Due to the change of their environment, their golden color no longer helps them hide. Instead of changing color, the redfin gillcrest has done the opposite and developed brightly colored tail fins. This makes them easier to see for most predators, which is exactly their purpose.

Redfin gillcrests always scavenge for food in loose groups of about 5-15. While they are perfectly happy to feed on any carcass found on the sea floor, they prefer their food a bit more fresh. They will seek out any large predator like the azularian that has just caught itself a meal. They will approach cautiously, then suddenly, all at once, start waving their red tails frantically. With any luck, the sudden movement and flashes of color will scare the predator away and the gillcrests have secured their next meal. If not, the gillcrests’ strong tails enable most of them to get away in time.

These tail fins are also, to some extent, used for signaling to each other. While a group is feeding, at least one of them will keep an eye on the environment, warning the others when a predator approaches. The males also use them for mating displays. A female will usually choose the male with the largest and most brightly colored fins. After mating, the female buries her huge, slimy clusters of eggs in the sand and stay near them until they hatch. The young will stay around their mother for a few days, but before long they venture out on their own. The reason for the large amount of eggs is that about one tenth of the eggs produces a healthy gillcrest that will survive their first week, and about half of them reaches reproductive age.