Ballad of the Actinopterygii X: Of beardfishes and squirrelfishes.

Now, let us tackle the branch of the Acanthomorpha leading to Perch-like fishes. First of all are beardfishes, whose taxonomic classification uaed to be uncertain. These builds used to be considered part of the roughy guild (Beryciformes). They are typically lightweight builds with barbels for increased Perception and not much is known about them, which is great as if their secrecy would be revealed, Humain mains would easily be gunning for them. Next guild is the Beryciformes. These builds include many deepsea builds such as the Alfonsinos, Whalefishes and Ridgeheads. This guild is mostly deepsea-based builds, and the Whalefishes in particular, rake this to the extreme by living in depths that not even Sperm Whales or Sleeper Sharks would touch without taking fatal pressure damage, or in the case of the cetaceans, the deadly [Drowning] debuff. Alfonsinos are particularly well-known for their very long playthroughs for a lightweight build. No EXP-depriving abilities to discourage griefing, no neurotoxins or large size, it's just a sluggish fish build, and yet, this thing can accumulate at least 69 (LOL) years of playtime.

Next, we have the Trachichthyiformes, another deepsea-group closely related to the Beryciformes. These include the pinecone fishes, famous for their armor, which alongside their deepsea playstyle, makes them the Teleostean equivalent of the banned Dapedium. Fangtooths, with very high DPS for their size and have to spec into a pair of sockets to properly close their mouth, as well as Flashlight Fishes, which specc into a biological multi-use "Flashlight" are also part of this guild. But the most iconic is the Orange Roughy. A slimehead, it has among the longest playtimes of any build, which is great despite having enough EXP for its size to justify PKing, no toxins or Mobility, and is 7 kg. At last, we have the squirrelfish and soldierfish guild, Holocentriformes. There are two types, the soldierfishes which are bulbous and can only grief plankton, and the squirrelfish which specced into venomous spines and are more streamlined, thus increasing their Mobility. Either way, they have nocturnal-based strategies, have big eyes and serrated scales.