Description: Blue parrotfish are mainly blue with a yellow spot on their head that fades as they get older. Their teeth are fused together, giving them a beak-like jaw (somewhat resembles the beak of a parrot, thus its common name) The beak is used for scraping algae from rocks and other rocky surfaces. Their pharyngeal teeth (throat teeth) are used for grinding rocks into sand.
Size: Their average size in length is 11-29 inches (30-75 cm).
Behavior: They spend 80% of their time searching for food.
Diet: They feed on algae and small organisms found in the sand.
Reproduction: Females will release fertilized eggs into the water column until they settle near the bottom. After they are released in the water, they will begin hatching after approximately 25 hours. Parrotfish can change sex from female to male.
Habitat/range: They are found in tropical and subtropical waters on coral reefs in shallow water of the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
Status: They are listed as Least Concern on IUCN Red List.
