Father’s day is a dedicated to celebrating all the amazing dads in the world.  Fathers make us feel safe, teach us how to survive and always ready to cheer us up with laughter.  These qualities make us all appreciate our fathers here on land, and under the sea is not so different.  See below some examples of great ocean dads who might be as incredible as your dad. 

Seahorse

The most famous ocean dad is the seahorse!

It’s true that male seahorses never play catch with their children or help them with their homework.  They do however outdo human dads on one count: Male seahorses undergo pregnancy and give birth to their sons and daughters.  After a courtship dance, which can last as long as eight hours, the female seahorse deposits eggs in the male’s stomach pouch, which are then fertilized by the male. The male can carry as many as 2,000 eggs in one pregnancy!

Clownfish

 It turns out "Finding Nemo" got more right, scientifically, than we thought. Just like Nemo’s dad, real-life clownfish dads will do anything to protect their offspring. 

Their paternal instincts are so strong that if you scoop an unrelated bunch of eggs into a bachelor’s clownfish anemone home, he’ll raise them as his own.  The clownfish is a careful caretaker, fanning the water to give his eggs oxygen and keep them clean, even if this causes them to lose sleep or face freezing temperatures.

Lumpsuckers

Found in the cold water of the Artic, North Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the lumpsucker is our most adorable dad. 

In order to attract females, male lumpsuckers builds nests to show off their great parenting skills! The females will arrive with eggs in tow. Once she finds a nest she likes, mom will deposit her eggs and leave. Dad will then fertilize them and assume all parental responsibilities. Using adhesive discs on his undersides, the father will anchor himself on a nearby rocky surface and stay by his eggs for the next 3 to 8 weeks.

Emperor Penguin

While the Emperor penguins have flippers instead of fins, they’re still considered one of the most popular fathers of the sea. 

After the female lays the egg, her nutritional reserves become depleted and she must return to feed in the ocean for two months. This leaves the father in charge of keeping the egg warm through the freezing Antarctic winter.  The father spends the two months holding the egg precariously between the tops of his feet and his brooding pouch, without feeding, throughout the brutal winter (when freezing winds can reach 120 mph). If he moves too suddenly or the egg becomes exposed to the freezing temperatures, the chick will perish. But his dedication — and his balance — ensures the survival of a new generation. What a dad!

Whether they’re losing sleep over an energetic newborn or facing freezing temperatures to keep their egg warm, we at Just Add Water want to show appreciation and thanks to our fathers of both land and sea.