Swallowtail Seaperch

Photo: Frank Krasovec · CC BY-NC

Swallowtail seaperch gather in animated aggregations around the cave mouths and deeper boulder sections below 18 metres, their brilliant orange colouration standing out even in reduced light. These planktivores form schools that constantly move through the water column, feeding on tiny crustaceans and larval fish swept in by current. As protogynous hermaphrodites, dominant females transition to males when the dominant male is lost, ensuring reproductive continuity within each group.