lautnusantara.com - Parrotfish is name for a group of colorful, tropical fish. They belong to the Scaridae family, which includes between 80 and 100 different species of parrotfish. Parrotfish have an average life span at 5 – 7 years and can be found in tropical seas around the world. This fish can grow up to four feet with the smallest is one feet. They typically very active on the day because they will feed in this time and sleep at night. Parrotfish live in and feed on coral reef, they mostly seen in shallow tropical and subtropical seas. They can also be found on the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian ocean. Most parrotfish is wandered around coral reef but they are also live in seagrass beds and rocky coastlines. 

This fish is called by the name parrotfish because they have a bird-like beaks. They use this ‘beak’ to bite the hard coral in order to extract the algae in it. Parrotfish are also very colorful and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Here are some species of parrotfish, like princess parrotfish, green humphead parrotfish, bleeker’s parrotfish, midnight parrotfish and queen parrotfish. 

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The largest species of the parrotfish is the green humphead, this fish has been known to grow to lengths slightly more than four feet. The smallest species is the blue lip parrotfish, which grows to about five inches long. They exist in a variety of colors, the most common being blues or greens with accents of pink, purple, yellow, or red. Parrotfish coloring can vary within a single species due to age and gender.

This fish have an important role as a part of coral reef ecosystems. They spend most of their day to eating algae and sleep at night among the coral. Their constant feeding helps the coral reefs healthy and thriving. They will use their beak to scrap an algae from a coral and digest it. The coral bit that parrotfish digested will come out into sand. 

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Parrotfish is considered a delicacy dish on some parts on the world, such as the Pacific and Caribbean regions. People eat parrotfish in different ways depend on their regions. As an example, in Polynesia it is served raw, while in other places, parrotfish is fried, steamed, or stewed.