Blue striped grunt

Description:

This is a blue striped fish, set against a yellow head and body, that gets the last part of its name from creating a grunting sound by grinding its teeth. Its swim bladder amplifies this noise; however, I was not close enough to here that sound ... thankfully. It has a black vertical stripe on its tail that ends in yellow. This "grunt" generally grows to a length of between eight to ten inches. This one was most likely near or at its full adult size.

Habitat:

Its habitat ranges from the western Atlantic in warmer southern waters off Florida, south through the Caribbean, in the Gulf of Mexico, and southward to the coast of Brazil. It may be found on reefs, amongst mangroves, and in seagrass beds.

Notes:

This appeared to be a rather shy fish that was hunkered down at the base of a common sea fan coral. While this fish is known to travel in schools, this one was seen as a solitary fish.