How to Identify Fairy Basslet Fish

Video Transcript

"The fish that we are going to identify now is the Fairy Basslet. The Fairy Basslet is also known as the Royal Gramma primarily by the aquarium trade. Fairy Basslets are very common fish in most parts of Florida and the Caribbean. They are a small fish, only an inch and a half to three inches long. Fairy Basslets are usually found over coral areas with lots of nooks and crannies where they can hide. I like to look for them in small caves and under ledges where they will commonly be swimming upside down with their bellies oriented to the cave ceiling or the underside of the ledge. Fairy Basslets are brightly colored, purple on the front half of their body, and yellow on the back half. They also have a dark spot on their dorsal fin near the front and yellow streaks across their eyes, but you have to get pretty close to see those markings. Usually when you try to get close to the Fairy Basslets, they'll dart into a crevice in the coral reef and hide, but they'll soon reemerge if you wait patiently for them, so that they can continue to feed on plankton. That's the Fairy Basslet."