Redtail Parrotfish
Sparisoma chrysopterum
Also known as: Blisterside, Blue Black-finned Chub, Blue Parrotfish, Kwab, Pink Kwab, Pink Parrot, Pink Parrotfish
- Blisterside
- Blue Black-finned Chub
- Blue Parrotfish
- Kwab
- Pink Kwab
- Pink Parrot
- Pink Parrotfish
Overview
Found singly or in schools, foraging for food, or resting on the bottom, blending in with the background, over seagrass beds and weedy areas, of coral and rocky reefs, rich in algae growth. Adults can rapidly change to a mottled pattern, to blend in with their surroundings.
Parrotfish are hermaphrodites and live in harems with a dominant male. They are not territorial, living and feeding in harmony with other species.
Their teeth are fused into powerful beaks which are used for grabbing filamentous algae from dead coral, often found feeding in a cloud of sediment.
At night parrotfish make a sleeping bag out of slime bubbles for protection against predators.
These beautiful fish whose males usually outshine the females for colour also change dramatically from juvenile to adult.
How to identify
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Habitat & where to find it
- Range · Western Atlantic, Caribbean
- Country only · 18
Found singly or in schools, foraging for food, or resting on the bottom, blending in with the background, over seagrass beds and weedy areas, of coral and rocky reefs, rich in algae growth.
Adult photos 18
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Deep dive
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1 photo