Description
Also known as Razorfish, Sand Wrasse, Straight-tail Razorfish, Straight-tailed Razorfish.
Found singly or in loose schools, hovering over open sand flats, ridges, slopes and seagrass beds, especially manatee grass in coastal reefs. When disturbed they will dive into the sand, they can "swim" for long distances through the sand to deter predators. Varies in colour, females lose their body bar with age.
They feed on sand dwelling invertebrates.
Length - 15cm
Depth - 1-20m
Widespread Western Atlantic, Caribbean
Most reef fish seen by divers during the day, are grazers, they cruise around, just above the surface of the coral, or snoop into crevices, foraging for food.
Wrasses have small protruding teeth, which they use to graze the bottom, taking in a variety of algae, crustaceans, such as crabs, eggs, shrimps, snails and worms. Any hard coats or thick shells, are then ground down by their pharyngeal jaws, and the delicacies inside digested.
From juvenile to adult, wrasses dramatically alter their colour and body shapes.
Wrasses are always on the go during the day, but are the first to go to bed and the last to rise.
Small wrasses dive below the sand to sleep, and larger wrasses wedge themselves in crevices. Ref: https://www.fishbase.in/summary/3668
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