Centropomus parallelus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Centropomus parallelus |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
|
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Centropomidae |
| Genus: | Centropomus |
| Species: |
C. parallelus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Centropomus parallelus Poey, 1860
|
|
| Script error: The function "autoWithCaption" does not exist. | |
Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".
The fat snook (Centropomus parallelus) is a type of fish found in the Centropomidae family. This family includes other snooks and robalos. People also call it the smallscale fat snook, little snook, or chucumite. You can find this fish in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Its home stretches from southern Florida in the United States all the way down to southern Brazil near Florianópolis.
Contents
What Does the Fat Snook Look Like?
This fish usually grows to about 25 centimeters (10 inches) long. However, some have been found to be as long as 72 centimeters (28 inches)! The heaviest fat snook ever recorded weighed 5 kilograms (11 pounds).
Like other snooks, it has a big head. Its snout is long and pointed. It also has large eyes on the sides of its head. Its mouth is big and has many small, brush-like teeth. The body of the fat snook is usually yellowish-brown to brownish-green. Its sides and belly have a shiny silver look. You can also see a dark line running along its side, which is called the lateral line.
Where Does the Fat Snook Live and What Does It Eat?
This fish can live in many different types of water. It can handle salty, slightly salty, and freshwater. This means you might find it in salty lagoons or in rivers and estuaries. It prefers coastal areas. You will most often see it in fresh or mildly salty water. Fat snooks lay their eggs in the slightly salty waters of estuaries.
This species is a carnivore, meaning it eats other animals. A big part of its diet is made up of crustaceans, like crabs and shrimp. Studies show that fat snooks usually eat during the day. But they are most active when the light is lower, such as early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
Did you know that fat snook fishing is becoming very popular in Brazil? People even have fishing tournaments there. They try to catch fat snooks and other similar fish called common snooks.
How Are Fat Snooks Farmed?
People catch and sell fat snooks to eat. Because they are valuable, scientists are studying how to raise them on farms. This is part of the aquaculture industry.
It's quite easy to raise fat snooks in tanks. They can eat regular fish food instead of live prey. They also turn their food into meat very well. This means they grow big efficiently. Researchers have successfully produced many young fat snooks in labs. Now, they are working on ways to raise them for sale.
In one successful experiment, fat snook eggs were placed on a special algae called Nannochloropsis. The baby fish that hatched ate tiny rotifers and brine shrimp larvae. Later, they learned to eat a dry, high-protein fish food.
Since these fish can live in fresh, brackish, and salty water, they can be farmed in many different places.
Life Cycle and Reproduction
Fat snooks have an interesting life cycle. They are what we call "protandrous." This means that some males change into females as they get older and bigger. Female fat snooks tend to grow larger than males. This is good for farming because bigger fish mean more food. Scientists have even tried giving the fish a female hormone called estradiol. This helps them produce more female fish, which is good for farming.
