Coral Grouper

Photo: Ian Shaw · © all rights reserved

Coral groupers are the signature predator of Hon Doi Moi's reef crest, their vivid red-orange body studded with blue spots making them one of the reef's most eye-catching residents as they perch on coral heads surveying for wrasse, damselfish, and small anthias. As sit-and-wait predators, they contribute to regulating the abundance of small reef fish, and their territoriality around specific coral heads creates predictable encounter opportunities on repeated dives. They are a key species in the live reef fish trade, making their continued abundance at this protected site an important conservation indicator.