GOAT FISH
Goatfishes are tropical marine perciform fish of the family Mullidae. Seldom found in
brackish waters, goatfish are most associated with the reefs of the Atlantic, Indian,
and Pacific Oceans. The goatfish are sometimes called the red mullets as opposed to
the Mugilidae, the grey mullets, though that name is usually reserved for the red
mullets of the genus Mullus of the Mediterranean. Within the family are approximately
six genera and 55 species.
Many species of goatfish are conspicuously coloured; however, they are not popular
in aquaria. Rather, goatfish are valued food fish in many countries. The largest
species, the dash-and-dot goatfish (Parupeneus barberinus) grows to 55 centimetres
in length; most species are less than half this size. Their bodies are deep and
elongate with forked tail fins and widely separated dorsal fins.
Perhaps the goatfish's unpopularity among fishkeepers can be attributed to its
feeding habits: Goatfish are tireless benthic feeders, using a pair of long
chemosensory barbels ("whiskers") protruding from their chins to rifle through the
sediments in search of a meal. Like goats, they seek anything edible; worms,
crustaceans, molluscs and other small invertebrates are staples.
By day, many goatfish will form large inactive (non-feeding) schools: these
aggregates may contain both conspecifics and heterospecifics. For example, the
yellowfin goatfish (Mulloidichthys vanicolensis) of the Red Sea and Hawaii is often
seen congregating with blue-striped snappers (Lutjanus kasmira). With such mixed
company, the yellowfins will actually change their coloration to match that of the
snappers.
By night the schools disperse and individual goatfish head their separate ways to
loot the sands. Other nocturnal feeders will shadow the active goatfish, waiting
patiently for any overlooked morsels. Goatfish stay within the shallows, going no
deeper than about 110 metres. Some species, such as the freckled goatfish (Upeneus
tragula) of East Africa, have been known to enter estuaries and rivers, although not to
any great extent.
All goatfish have the ability to change their coloration depending on their current
activity. One notable example, the diurnal goldsaddle goatfish (Parupeneus
cyclostomus) will change from a lemon-yellow to a pale cream whilst feeding. Diurnal
species also tend to be solitary, but will school as juveniles.
Goatfish are pelagic spawners; that is, they release many buoyant eggs into the
water which become part of the plankton. The eggs float freely with the currents until
hatching.
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