Grouper Fish

Groupers are another of those misnamed fish, since in the wild they live completely alone, one per cave - the original hermit! In an aquarium, you should not attempt to keep two of the same species together, and it is also unwise to try and keep two of any sort of groupers together. They are exceedingly hardy, nitrite-tolerant, easy to feed and disease-resistant. The grouper likes to lurk at the cave entrance, just darting out occasionally to warn off intruders or to grab a passing meal. Feed this carnivorous fish on solid chunks of food, such as mussel meat and lance fish, and make sure that its tank mates are larger than the grouper's mouth. Furnish the aquarium with an overhang large enough to accommodate your chosen fish. Groupers grow quite rapidly - in the tropics they are regarded as a prime food fish.

Closely related to the groupers are the snappers, another very large food fish. Snappers are shoaling fish that swim very powerfully and with great agility, making them difficult to catch, even in a tank. They are very hardy, nitrite-tolerant and easy to feed. Snappers grow very quickly and are capable of doubling their size in a few weeks. They are not particularly aggressive, but their very size precludes them from the average home aquarium. Avoid buying juvenile emperor snappers (Lufthansa seabed), for example, because they soon outgrow their tank.

The panther fish, Coronado, grouper (Chronicle hive) is suitable for an aquarium containing triggers and lionfish. It is a little less solitary than other groupers. Another untypical grouper is the marine beta (Calliopes & veils), a beautifully marked, lowbrow swimmer.

Species of Grouper

1. Black Grouper: - This is a famous species of Grouper Fish; found in Atlantic Ocean towards west side, from northern USA to southern Brazil, southern Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, the Caribbean. Black grouper fish grow up to the size of 150 cm in length and its weight is 100 kg. The body color of this grouper fish is olive or gray and it has black marks and harsh spots on her body. It is tasty and important food fish; it is slow breeder and spawns between May and August.


2. Comet Grouper: - Comet grouper is also known as blue grouper found in very deep water. The home for the comet grouper is from Red Sea and eastern Africa to the central Pacific Ocean. Generally this fish is not common in market.


3. Giant Grouper: - This species of grouper fish is also known as brown spotted cod, brindle bass, bumblebee grouper. In Australia it is known as Queensland grouper, it is the largest bony fish which is found in Indo-Pacific expanse. Giant grouper as the name itself tells can grow up to 2.7 m and its weight is near about 600 kg. Color of this grouper fish changes with age and it has very large mouth. There are so many black marks on her fins.


4. Atlantic Goliath Grouper: - Atlantic Goliath grouper is also known as Itajara, it is very large fish which is found in salt water. This grouper fish is found in the depth of 50 m. This fish eat other fishes, octopuses, young sea turtles etc.