Little Biting Fish in the sea, what are they??

[stevek]

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Hello everyone, just speaking with my neighbour here in the UK who has just returned from his 2nd extremely enjoyable holiday to Sunny Beach where he stayed in a 5 star hotel which he said should in his opinion have been a 6 Star (do they do 6 stars??) so good to hear a positive BG holidaymaker experience. During our conversation he asked "what are those shoals of little fish that nip your legs in the shallow water by the shore?" and I had no idea what he was talking about. He said that he caught one and it was a greenish colour and about 1inch(25mm) long, and that they really do give you a bite!, we have never seen anything like this up towards Albena, what are they and are they common at times?
Steve.

[SimonTrace]

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piranha ?

[Trudyw]

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Lets hope they are not in Kranevo !!!!!!!!!!.

Maybe they are the sort that people pay a fortune for that eat all your dead skin off you feet.

[eyebright]

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Don't have a clue what they might be but has anybody had little shrimp type crustaceans doing the same. Happened to me a couple of years back on a beach somewhere between Varna and Bourgas, they gave an annoying nip and there were loads of them.

[blackaqua]

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If its what I think you are talking about they are not fish but a Marine Isopoda (slaters or sea lice, sea roach). There are over 3000 different species, apparently the Deep Sea Isopods are real beaut brutes...B.giganteus has been measured at 45 centimetres long and weighing in at 1.7 kilos, they even feed on dead whales..In the Black Sea they are more gentile, if you constantly move your legs they tend not to nip, but standing still they do irritate...be ware of putting youngsters in paddling rings.
They are not a natural species for the Black Sea and probably arrived here due to the washing out of sea bilges and ballast by the increase of the container traffic. they are common all along the bulgarian coast line more so on the sandy bottom such as Golden Sands, Bolata, Albena ..etc

[eyebright]

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Thanks Blackaqua......

I did think they could be sea lice but couldn't find anything online to confirm that they would 'nibble' humans............

[gimlet]

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Thanks for the info Blackacqua. And I'll make sure I keep the sand out of my bottom

[dazza]

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So not piranhas then ?

[Nessie]

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In St Vlas (next to Sunny Beach) we see shoals of tinny fish, but have never been bitten by any. We do get jelly fish though- the Bulgarians don't appear worried about these though, but they do put me off a bit.

Ness

[stevek]

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Many thanks everyone, I think its most likely to be the "shrimp" like creatures as in describing them to me he did say they looked a little like a type of "shrimp or small fish"
I was also a little perturbed by Black Aquas assertion that they can sometimes be found up towards Albena,,as you may all know there is a popular Naturist beach there and I cannot imagine the havoc that could be caused "in that region" by those little varmints!
Steve.