A beak for biting rock
Its teeth are fused into a beak, with which it scrapes algae off coral and bites off chunks of reef.
Coral reef
Parrotfish
Scaridae
A chunky, brightly coloured fish, often blue-green and pink, with teeth joined into a beak like a parrot's.
- Size
- Mostly 30 to 50cm long
- Look for it
- All year round
- Where
- Coral reefs in warm seas all round the world
Swims after you, flapping its side fins. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
Parrotfish
Good to know
Six things about the parrotfish
A sand factory
It grinds up coral and passes it out as fine white sand. One fish can make hundreds of kilograms a year.
A sleeping bag of slime
Some parrotfish blow a bubble of mucus round themselves at night, which may hide their scent.
Changing colour and sex
Many start as plain females and turn into brightly coloured males as they grow.
You can hear them eat
Divers can hear the crunch of parrotfish biting coral.
Reef gardeners
By grazing the algae, they stop it from smothering the coral.
The real thing
Photos of the parrotfish
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Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
How to spot one
On any healthy reef, look for a big blue-green fish rowing along with its side fins, and listen for the crunching.
How to help
Reefs need their parrotfish. Some countries now protect them from fishing, and their reefs are healthier for it.
Keep going