Scarus
guacamaia- Rainbow
Parrotfish
The Rainbow
Parrotfish, or Scarus guacamaia, is a
species of parrotfish that has very striking colors along its body. Among its
colors are orange, green, blue, and purple. It’s defining feature is the
striking orange color on its face. The Rainbow Parrotfish also has an initial
phase where they are a different gender. This species of parrotfish can grow to
be one and a half to three feet long, and the depth they’re usually found at is
ten to eighty feet. The diet of the Rainbow Parrotfish usually consists of the
algae within coral polyps. They obtain the algae by using their beak-like
mouths to crush the coral and obtain the nutrients from the coral polyps. The
undigested coral is excreted and tends to make up a large majority of the sand
and sediment in the territory of the fish. The coloring on the Rainbow
parrotfish tends to change. The larger males are the more colorful and the
females and the smaller males are a duller color.
Rainbow Parrotfish and
other parrotfish species are essential to keep coral reefs healthy. Not only do
they create sand and sediment by excreting unused, grinded up coral, but they
also act as a middleman between corals and seagrass. Because corals and
seagrasses compete for light and nutrients, the parrotfish can help to keep the
competition fair. Although these processes are important for reef health, there
are other things that need to be done to preserve the reefs.
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| Rainbow Parrotfish |
Rainbow parrotfish go
through several different phases in their life. The first phase is a sexually
immature juvenile that is very dully colored. The next phase is the initial
phase, where both males and females are sexually mature. Smaller males and
females in this phase will have a bluish color but will not have received the
bright orange and green markings that are seen in terminal phase adult males.
In the terminal phase, only the adult males will possess the striking orange
and green colors. Females and the smaller of the males will have the same blue
color to them. There are also primary and secondary males in each family group.
Primary males are born males, while secondary males are born females and then
transition into males.
Some interesting facts
about the Rainbow Parrotfish are that they create mucus bubbles at night to
sleep in. They also sleep in between rocks and corals to protect themselves
from predation. The secondary males can also disguise themselves as females to
try and join a harem, which is a group of females that have one dominant male. 
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