STOP in the name of love........ The Stoplight Parrotfish is a coral reef dwelling fish that can change sex. These fish are generally located throughout Florida, the Bahamas and Caribbean. In the initial phase of life, the Spotlight Parrotfish could either be male or female. In many cases, all fish begin life as females and change later in areas that lack breeding males or females. Fish in the initial phase are usually drab colors of red, grey, brown or black. After the third year of life, a female may change into a male. This is refered to as the "terminal phase." A male that was once a female is called a "Supermale" and will generally pair with one female to spawn. A male that has not changed is called a "primary male" and will generally mate with several females. A Supermale is very colorful with combinations of bright green, yellow, blue and red.
The Spotlight Parrotfish spawns all year long, but has greater activity during the summer months. Males and females migrate into deeper areas of the reef to spawn. The fertilized eggs are negatively buoyant and hatch within 25 hours to release larvae. These larvae have no eyes, mouth or pigmentation for the first three days.
A Spotlight Parrotfish can live up to ten years and can also undergo sex reversals at any time during their terminal phase.
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