Parrotfish

[denise]

The 90+ species of parrotfish get their name from their numerous teeth, which form a parrot like beak, which they use to rasp algae from coral reefs. Parrotfish are very brightly colored, common residents on Florida’s reefs. Active only by day, at night they recede into small tight crevices in the reef, where they secrete a thick coat of mucous. They sleep in this cocoon, which protects them from parasites and masks their scent from nocturnal predators.


http://www.dayo.com/images/forum/stoplightparrotfish_1.jpg
Stoplight parrotfish, Sparisoma viridae, West Palm Beach
Photo by Bob Rosell

As parrotfishes grow older, they change color. Adult females are usually green, brown or gray, and the males are more vivid, conspicuous colors. Parrotfish are often seem in groups called “harems”. A harem is a group of several female parrotfish, with a single male defending them. Amazingly, if this dominant male of a harem dies, one of the females will change sex, becoming a functional male with the typical male coloration!


http://www.scubadiver.cc/forums/gallery/files/4/5/1/stoplightparrotfishrobert_1.jpg
Stoplight parrotfish, Sparisoma viridae, West Palm Beach
Photo by Robert Palmer

http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/stoplightparrotfishinitialphasecourtney.jpg
Stoplight parrotfish, initial (juvenile) phase, Key Largo
Photo by Courtney Redfield

http://www.scubadiver.cc/forums/gallery/files/4/5/1/redbandparrotfishrobert_1.jpg
Redband Parrotfish, Sparisoma aurofrenatum, Initial (juvenile) Phase, Boynton Beach
Photo by Robert Palmer

http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/redbandparrotfish.jpg
Redband Parrotfish, Terminal (adult) Phase, Pompano Beach

http://www.scubadiver.cc/forums/gallery/files/4/5/1/midnightparrotfishrobert_1.jpg
Midnight parrotfish, Scarus coelestinus, one of the more rarer parrotfish species living off Florida's coast
Photo by Robert Palmer

http://www.dayo.com/fishid/midnightparrotfish_111.jpg
Close up of midnight parrotfish, Key Largo
Like its brilliantly blue and black colored head, midnight parrotfish also have blue-green teeth.

http://www.divetraining.net/pictures/2011_apr_benpics/benfish_5.jpg
Photo by Ben Riley
Exact population figures for Midnight Parrotfish are unknown, there is some evidence to suggest they may be decreasing in numbers.

http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/queenparrotfish1234.jpg
Queen Parrotfish, Scarus vetula, very common in South Florida and the Keys

http://www.dayo.com/fishid/blueparrotfishfederico_1.jpg
Blue Parrotfish, Scarus coeruleus, Key Largo
Photo courtesy of Federico Arismendi

http://www.scubadiver.cc/fishid/blueparrotfishrob_1.jpg
Blue parrotfish, Pompano Beach
Photo by Robert Palmer


http://www.dayo.com/fishid/princessparrotfish_111.jpg
Princess parrotfish, Scarus taeniopterus, Pompano Beach

The princess parrotfish is common in the Caribbean, South Florida, Bahamas, and Bermuda. Its behavior, is very similar to other parrotfishes, they spend their days swimming over coral reefs at depths of up to 80 feet, scraping off algae to eat.

Parrotfish kelp to keep tropical ecosystems balanced, by feeding on the algae, they prevent algae from overgrowing, which can suffocate coral. There feeding habits also help to distribute sand as the coral and rocky substrate they ingest along with the algae is ground up by their pharyngeal teeth then eliminated as sand.