St. John Virgin Islands Sea Creatures: Parrotfish

Parrotfish are one of the most common species found on St. John reefs. They are extremely colorful and have fused teeth that look like a parrot's beak. They swim using their pectoral fins.

The parrotfish in the photo has made a bag out of secreted mucus bubbles In which it will the spend the night.

Reef grazing fish, such as parrotfish, produce a significant amount of the sand found on our beaches. Parrotfish exist on a diet of algae, which they scrape off the surface of coral rock with their beak. They then grind this coral and algae mixture to a fine powder. The algae covering the coral are absorbed as food. The coral rock passes through their digestive tracts and is excreted in the form of sand. Snorkelers will frequently observe this process if they watch the parrotfish for a few minutes. Scientists say that for each acre of reef a ton of sand is produced by reef grazing fish every year.

(photo by Dean Hulse)