"Record breaking" fish at seaquarium

One of the region's tourist attractions reckon a species of fish there could be the longest anywhere in the world.

Rhyl Seaquarium say their Lion Fish called Spike is half an inch longer than the largest specimen ever caught.

Hundreds are caught in their native Caribbean every year where they are considered pests, but the longest previously seen was 17.5 inches - Spike is 18 inches.

Display Manager Paul Tyson says measuring Lion Fish is difficult as they have poisonous spines along their backs.

But in Spike's case it was worth the effort to discover that he is a world-beater.

Paul said:

"We've done a lot of research and as far as we know, the largest recorded Lion Fish ever caught is 17 ½ inches long.

"Our zoo vet, who is consultant to virtually all public aquariums in the UK has said they are the largest Lion Fish she has ever seen, as have other professionals in the industry.

"We are certain that Spike is a world record breakers when it comes to size and I don’t think anyone could come up with a bigger specimen whether from the wild or in captivity."