Convict Surgeonfish

Photo: Leona Kustra · CC BY-NC

During the October and November palolo worm spawn, convict surgeonfish gather in the thousands at Palolo Deep to feed on the rising worm segments, creating one of the most dramatic reef-fish aggregations in Polynesia. Outside spawn season smaller schools still patrol the shallow lagoon edges, grazing algae from coral heads and keeping rubble zones clear for new coral recruitment.