All fish / Scaridae

Princess Parrotfish

Scarus taeniopterus

Also known as princess parrotfish, striped parrotfish, princess parrot, 公主鹦嘴鱼

Juveniles and females have dark and pale horizontal stripes, while terminal-phase males turn blue-green with orange and yellow bands along the head and body. It is a reef grazer that scrapes algae from rock with its fused beak-like teeth, and is mostly kept in public aquaria or very large home systems.

Care at a glance

Care level

Hard

Temperament

Peaceful

Adult size

25 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

1500 litres

Keep as

Singly, or one male with several females in very large systems

Diet

Herbivore: algae grazed from rock, nori, spirulina-based foods, with some meaty marine foods

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

5 to 10 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Western Atlantic: Bermuda, Florida, Bahamas, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico to Brazil

Breeding

A protogynous hermaphrodite that spawns in pairs or groups, releasing pelagic eggs in open water. It has not been bred reliably in home aquaria.

Good to know

Grows too large and active for most home tanks and will bite corals and rock, so it is not reef safe; it needs huge volumes and constant grazing material. Look-alike juveniles of the striped parrotfish (Scarus iseri) are often confused with it.