Australian photographer captures bizarre photos of fish ‘trapped’ inside a jellyfish

It might look like a bad day to many for this fish that appears “trapped” in a jellyfish. But it could be the fish’s best day ever.

In December, Australian photographer Tim Samuel captured the bizarre images of this odd duo while freediving off the coast of Byron Bay, New South Wales with videographer Franny Plumridge.

“I found a fish inside a jellyfish!” Samuel wrote on his Instagram account. “He was trapped in there, but controlled where the jellyfish was moving.”

The photos have captured worldwide attention this week after Instagram account DiscoverOcean reshared Samuel’s image to its 660,000 followers.

Speaking with tech website CNET, the photographer said the fish commandeered the jellyfish, propelling the pair through the ocean.

“It seemed completely trapped in there, like it had somehow managed to swim inside and then was unable to back itself out,” Samuel told CNET. “The fish was able to propel the jellyfish forward and controlled its movement to an extent. The jellyfish threw it off-balance though, and they would wobble around, and sometimes get stuck doing circles.

Given the “expression” on the trapped fish, it appears the little guy might be in a dire situation. However, that might not be the case.

Speaking with Australian Geographic, a fish biologist at the Centre for Marine Science explained to the magazine that some fish seek protection “among the stingers of certain jellyfish.”

“It’s difficult to tell whether disaster has just struck, or whether the fish is happy to be in there,” associate professor Ian Tibbetts told Australian Geographic. “Although by the photographer’s description of the fish swimming, my guess is that it is probably quite happy to be protected in there.”