Mola Mola: So Much From So Little

Keywords: Ocean Sunfish, Mola mola

The Story: Mola mola, also called the Ocean Sunfish, is known not only for being the odd-shaped relative to the pufferfish, but for its ability to grow. The Monterey Bay Aquarium once hosted a Mola mola in its Outer Bay exhibit. The fish grew so fast that after 14 months it had unexpectedly gained 800 lbs (almost 2 lbs per day) and the aquarium had to airlift it back to the open ocean. The Mola holds a few world records, one of which is for world's heaviest bony fish - the largest recorded Mola was just shy of 5,000 lbs. Between larvae stage and adulhood, the Mola can grow to 60 million times its starting weight. A Mola in the wild feeds primarily on jellyfish and other gelatinous zooplankton. Since jellyfish are 95% water, this mysterious and fascinating fish begs the question - how can it grow so much on so little?

Additional Reading:
http://www.oceansunfish.org/ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/02/0202_mola.html

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