The smallmouth grunt is a marine fish is reported to spend daylight hours on reefs and move into open water to feed at night.
  • Size

    Up to 9 inches (23 cm)
  • Diet

    Plankton, small crustaceans, mollusks and worms
  • Range

    Western Atlantic Ocean
  • Habitat

    Exposed rocky areas and coral reefs

Physical Characteristics

  • Reaches a maximum size of about 9 inches (23 cm).
  • It has a smaller mouth than other grunts.
  • The smallmouth grunt has a bluish-silver or silver-white body color with five or six yellow stripes.

 

Diet / Feeding

  • Feeds mainly on plankton, small crustaceans, mollusks and worms.
  • This grunt is reported to spend daylight hours on reefs and move into open water to feed at night.

Range / Habitat

  • Occurs in the Western Atlantic from southern Florida, the Bahamas, the Caribbean and the Yucatan to Brazil.
  • Found in small schools over exposed rocky areas and coral reefs from near-surface to about 82 feet (25 m). Sometimes seen sheltering in elkhorn coral and staghorn coral.
  • Juveniles are often encountered in turtle grass (Thalassia) beds.

Reproduction & Growth

  • Oviparous- egg-laying species.

Conservation Status

  • “Least Concern” on the IUCN Red List.

Additional Information

  • Smallmouth grunts form large schools around reefs.

Sources

  • www.fishbase.org
  • Coral Reef Fishes. Lieske, E, and Myers, R.
  • Atlantic Coast Fishes – Peterson’s Field Guides. Robins, C.R., Ray, G.C. and Douglass, J.
  • McClane’s Field Guide to Saltwater Fishes of North America. McClane, A.J.
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