One of the Most Common Fish in the Caribbean
There many awe inspiring sites that can be seen diving the coral reefs of the Caribbean. One of my favorites is to follow a school of blue parrot fish, some approaching three feet in length, as the move along the reef grazing on the hard coral like cattle.
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Sroplight Parrot
Changing Sex and Colors and Sleeping on the Reef
The Parrot Fish might not be the most common fish on tropical reefs but it is close. There are many species some so unique that they are hardly recognizable as part of the same family. All these diverse subspecies have large, fused teeth giving them a parrot like appearance and their name. They use the teeth to bite off sections of coral so they can digest the algae living in the polyps. The fish pulverize the hard coral and excrete as white sand. Remember the next time you lie lounging on a white sand beach that you are lounging on parrot fish poop.Parrot fish may change color and sex during their life cycle. A male who dies may be replaced by the dominant female who will change sex and color to match the males. If the harem is then taken over by another dominant male the male may change back to a female.
Some species excrete a cocoon every night and can be seen on night dives sleeping in their cocoon in the reef.
It was originally though there were as many as 350 species of parrot fish due to constant color changes but the number is closer to eighty.
Parrot fish are common from ten feet to one hundred sixty feet in depth which is that area diver can visit. Parrot fish often swim I schools grazing on the reef like cattle.
Link to Shedd Aquarium article.
Link to National Geographic article
Queen Parrot
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Parrotfish
Parrotfish
Diving Maldives, 200...
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blue parrotfish
stoplight parrotfish
two blue parrotfish
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Sleeping parrotfish
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blood parrot cichlid attack
our 7 year old fish starting laying eggs about 3 months ago. Unfortunatly there is no male to fertilize them. I feel bad for her but she is so big I can't even put anymore fish with her. She fiercly protects these eggs to the point that the only surviving fish can't eat so we have to remove them.
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