Beau gregory facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Beau gregory |
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The Beau Gregory, also known as Stegastes leucostictus, is a type of colorful fish called a damselfish. You can find these fish living close to the ocean floor in shallow waters. They live in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean.
What Does the Beau Gregory Look Like?
The Beau Gregory is a strong, oval-shaped fish. It is also flat from side to side. This fish can grow to be about 10 centimeters (4 inches) long.
Its colors can change, but it is usually dark blue or brown on its head and back. Its sides are often yellowish. The fish has a large top fin called a dorsal fin. This fin has 12 stiff spines and 13 to 16 soft rays. Its bottom fin, called the anal fin, has two spines and 12 to 14 soft rays. The tail fin has a small fork shape. The fins on its sides (pectoral and pelvic fins) do not have spines. Its mouth is right at the tip of its nose.
Young Beau Gregory fish look a bit different. They have blue stripes and spots on their heads. The top of their head and front body have a dull blue shine. They also have a large, black eye-spot circled in blue. This spot is where the spines and soft rays of the dorsal fin meet. As the fish grows, this spot moves up onto the fin. A dark spot just above each side fin helps tell this fish apart from other similar types.
Where Do Beau Gregory Fish Live?
You can find Stegastes leucostictus in shallow waters. They live at depths of up to about 10 meters (33 feet) in the western Atlantic Ocean. Their home range stretches from Florida and the Gulf of Mexico all the way south to Brazil.
These fish usually stay close to the seabed, often within 50 centimeters (20 inches) of the bottom. They like to live in seagrass meadows, on rocky areas, or near coral reefs. You might also find them on sandy flats or sometimes among mangrove trees.
How Do Beau Gregory Fish Live?
Beau Gregory fish mostly eat seaweed. But they also enjoy other small creatures. Their diet includes marine worms, small shrimp-like animals called amphipods, tiny single-celled organisms called foraminiferans, and snails.
A male damselfish will guard its own special area, called a territory. It usually doesn't bother its neighbors much. However, it will attack another male of the same species if it enters its space. The fish that has the best territory is usually the strongest or most dominant. If that dominant fish leaves, a less dominant male might move into the good territory. Then, that new fish will become dominant too.
During the time when they have babies, a male and female fish will form a pair. The female lays her eggs inside an empty shell or under a stone. The male fish then guards the nest. He also fans the eggs with his fins. This helps keep the eggs healthy by giving them enough oxygen.
Another fish, the wrasse called Thalassoma bifasciatum (bluehead), sometimes eats the eggs of the Beau Gregory. A male damselfish can tell how much danger the wrasse poses. It will react in different ways to protect its eggs. It might chase the wrasse away, bother it, or take a threatening pose with its head lowered.
