Vardhan Patankar
Vardhan Patankar
Vardhan Patankar
( Plectorhinchus vittatus )
Found in lagoons and coral reef between the depths of 2-25 m. You are most likely to see them active at night.
They have a background light grey colour with stripes of black and white going across the body. Furthermore, their fins are yellow and so are the snout and forehead. The fins on the top of their body and the fins of their tail have black spots with the background yellow colour. These species can grow quite big to a maximum length of 72 cm.
They are most commonly spotted feeding in the night on small invertebrates like crustaceans, gastropods , annelid worms and smaller fish as well.
( Plectorhinchus flavomaculatus )
They are found between the depths of 2-25 m at coastal waters near lagoons and coral reefs.
They are greyish in colour with many yellow to orange spots on the body and fins. These fish are a common species spotted around Indian reefs. These species are known to emit a grunting sound when caught.
They are known to feed on crustaceans and worms that live in the sand on the ocean floor.
Phalguni Ranjan
( Diagramma pictum )
Preferring cloudy waters and areas that are sandy in shallow waters around coral reefs. You can spor them as deep as 80 m.
As adults these species display a blue-grey colour with bright yellow to orange like spots on the body which also form patterns on their head. Their fins have a black coloured margins and tips. As juveniles, they appear completely differently with black and white stripes. Attaining about 100 cm in maximum length, these fish are a must see.
They feed on invertebrates moving along the ocean floor and small fishes.
Joydeep Sarkar
( Plectorhinchus polytaenia )
You can find them at depths between 5-40 m on coral reefs.
They have a light brown background colour over which they have between 5-9 thin white horizontal striped which are outlined dark brown going all the way from where the tail meets the body to the snout. Their fins are yellow and they have swollen lips. These species can grow up to be a maximum length of about 50 cm.
They are mostly feeding in the night on small invertebrates such as crustaceans, annelid worms and and smaller fish.
Vardhan Patankar
Evan Nazareth
Vardhan Patankar
( Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides )
They are found in coral rich areas around lagoons and seaward facing reefs between 1- 30 m.
Adults are greyish in colour with large dark brown to black spots, they can grow up to a maximum length of 72 cm. As juveniles, they have a brownish with large white spots on the body. The young tend to mimic the movement and colouration of poisonous flatworms that way keeping predators astray. Another feature that it shares with the rest of the sweetlips are their fleshy lips.
They are usually night feeders that forage on crustaceans, molluscs and small fish.