Abudefduf saxatilis This small, flat, oval shaped reef fish has five distinct black bars on its sides. While in sandy areas and over reefs, it is in its light phase, generally silvery gray with a yellow sheen along its upper sides; and when hiding in a cave or crevice, it enters its dark phase, w
Stomach content analysis reported benthic algae, pelagic algae, and plankton including
Chaetodipterus faber This silver and black striped, disk-shaped fish schools in groups as large as 500. Although it’s the only of its family to live in the Western Atlantic, there are a few fish that look similar. The Atlantic spadefish can grow to almost 36 inches and 20 pounds. Some anglers lik
This fish may also feed occasionally on plankton as well as nibble on jellyfish tentacles
Hippocampus erectus These specialized fish are poor swimmers and rely on their coloring and texture to camouflage themselves among coral, seagrass, or mangroves where they ambush much smaller prey by sucking them into their toothless snouts. They choose a mate for a season or a lifetime, have com
long snout to accommodate their diet of small shrimp, very small fish, plants, and plankton
Haemulon plumierii These schooling reef fish have almond shaped bodies with pointed snouts and forked caudal (tail) fins. They are generally silvery white or cream, with touches of bronze or yellow, and striped with blue at their heads. Their mouths are red, and they make a grunting noise by grin
The small juvenile grunts pick plankton, primarily copepods, from the water column
Amia calva These freshwater fish are sometimes called ‚primitive‘ because they display traits of fishs‘ ancestors. They are able to breathe both air and water, putting them at an advantage in low-oxygen waters. The male bowfin guards the spawn for several months until they are able to forage on t
They larvae feed on plankton and grow rapidly.
Lutjanus griseus This is one the smaller and slimmer of the snapper family, rarely growing larger than 18 inches long and 10 pounds. They are generally gray with darker dorsal and caudal (tail) fins, but can display wide variations of small spots, pale bars, or fin tip coloring based on age and l
within the first 45 hours, after which the larvae must actively feed amongst the plankton
Diplectrum formosum These small in-shore fish are territorial and loyal to the home hole or crevice that they have made or found. They are brown on top, fading to white underneath, with darker vertical bars, a mid-line stripe ending in a dark spot at the tail, and irregular blue horizontal lines.
Young sand perch settle out of the plankton, becoming demersal at lengths of less
Ictalurus punctatus This is North America’s most popular and populated catfish, residing in lakes, rivers, swamps and even high up in estuaries with lower salinity. Channel catfish have a varied diet, and have the largest eyes in the catfish family, as well as specialized taste buds all over thei
Young depend primarily on plankton and aquatic insect larvae.
Thalassoma bifasciatum This schooling reef fish has a varied assortment of color patterns based on its life phase and behavior. It gets its name from the final phase where it has a bright blue head followed by black and white bars and then a green or blue-green body with a gold sheen. The final p
in schools of thousands of individuals foraging along the bottom or feeding on plankton
Seriola dumerili This large fish is slender and agile, and can grow to be more than 6 feet long. Its is mostly a silvery white color, with a darker gray or bluish coloring from above. This is a popular recreational fish but because it is in the of the apex of the marine food chain, the larger one
Juvenile greater amberjacks feed on plankton such as decapod larvae and other small
