PARROTFISH

Family Scaridae

Parrotfish are distant cousins of the wrasse and where wrasse have fleshy lips, Parrotfish have a strong, calcified beak and wide molar plate. This enables them to bite chunks of coral and grind them up to get at the soft polyps within. Known to be a contributing factor in the production of sand around the offshore reefs, parrotfish are voracious eaters and are always found in small groups of perhaps ten to twenty females with one large super male.

PARROTFISH

Sparisoma cretense

The Mediterranean Parrotfish is always a delightful find. Uncommon in cooler western waters, it is more common east of the Maltese archipelago. The female is a brilliant mixed colour comprising a yellow ring around the eye, red snout with yellow band behind, grey head and red for the rest of the body and tail. It has another yellow patch before the tail. The males are a dull greyish blue in colour and only change sex when another predominant male has died. It grows to 50cm (1ft 8in). Ecology: The Parrotfish likes offshore reefs in well-aerated water and mixes well with other fish species.