Rock beauty
Holacanthus tricolor
(Bloch, 1795)
Description:
Terminal phase: Body laterally flattened with an oval profile. Front of body yellow, remaining parts of body, dorsal fin and front of anal fin black. Tail entirely yellow. Face and lips occasionally navy blue.
Size up to 35 cm.
Juvenile phase: Very young specimens, of about 2.5 cm in length, are entirely yellow, except for a blue-edged black spot on the upper side of the body posterior to the midpoint. With growth, the black spot soon expands to become the large black area covering most of the body and dorsal and anal fins.
Habitat:
Juveniles stay especially in shallow water, often near or between the vertical plates of fire corals. They are often cleaning other fish for their food. When adult, they move to the reef where they feed mainly on sponges. Most common to depths of 25 m.
Distribution:
Occasional to uncommon Florida and Bahamas, common to occasional Caribbean.