Fish Identification: Red Spotted Hawkfish

Video Transcript

"The marine organism that we're going to identify now is the Redspotted Hawkfish. One of the most elusive fish on the coral reef is the Redspotted Hawkfish. This small shy fish is generally found resting on a coral head, perched on its pectoral fins, but as soon as it knows it's been spotted, it quickly darts into a hole in the reef and re-emerges only after a long time period has passed. Redspotted Hawkfish are generally only two to three and a half inches long. So add to their shyness, the fact that they are relatively small fish, it takes a good eye to notice the Redspotted Hawkfish. Redspotted Hawkfish have a very distinctive color pattern. They have greenish brown bars over a cream colored body. All their fins except the dorsal fin are clear, but really makes them distinctive are the red spots that cover the face, upper body and dorsal fin of this fish. They also reportedly have tassels on the tips of each of the dorsal fins and spines, but I have yet to get a close enough look at one to see that distinctive feature on these fish. They can be found on coral reefs and rocky areas as shallow as twelve feet and as deep as about eighty feet. Their range is throughout the tropical waters of Florida, the Bahamas and the Caribbean, although the frequency of their occurrence varies by specific region. Redspotted Hawkfish feed primarily on small crustaceans such as copepods, small shrimp, shrimp larvae, crabs and crab larvae. They will also feed on various types of marine worms. They feed by rapidly darting out from their perch on a coral head or rock to grab a morsel of food passing by in the water column. In other words they're fairly opportunistic feeders as they wait for food to pass by them instead of actively hunting for it on the reef. Redspotted Hawkfish are protogynous hermaphrodites meaning they are all female until the dominant male in an area dies, at which time the dominant female will change sex and become a male. They are pelagic spawner's and mating occurs at night near the water's surface. Their eggs are buoyant and float on the water's surface until they hatch in a just a few weeks. Given that it takes a few weeks for the eggs to hatch, currents can carry them long distances which probably explains their broad distribution. That's the Redspotted Hawkfish."