Hawkfish Facts for Kids

"Hawkfish" redirects here. For the U.S. political agency, see Hawkfish (technology company).

Quick facts for kids Hawkfish

A stocky hawkfish, Cirrhitus pinnulatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Cirrhitidae W. S. Macleay, 1841
Genera
Amblycirrhitus Cirrhitichthys Cirrhitops Cirrhitus Cristacirrhitus Cyprinocirrhites Isocirrhitus Itycirrhitus Neocirrhites Notocirrhitus Oxycirrhites Paracirrhites

Hawkfishes are cool fish that live in warm, tropical oceans. You can find them around coral reefs in places like the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans. They belong to a family called Cirrhitidae. They look a bit like scorpionfish, but they are different!

A Black-sided hawkfish (Paracirrhites forsteri) from East Timor

What Do Hawkfishes Look Like?
Hawkfishes as Pets
Where They Live and How They Hunt
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Gallery
See also

What Do Hawkfishes Look Like?

Hawkfishes have big heads and bodies that are a bit long. Their top fin, called the dorsal fin, has 10 spines that are connected. Each spine has little fringes or threads at its tip. This is how they got their family name, Cirrhitidae, which comes from a Latin word meaning "fringe."

Their tail fins are rounded. Their side fins, called pectoral fins, are large and don't have scales. Most hawkfishes are small, usually about 7 to 15 centimeters (3 to 6 inches) long. But the biggest one, the giant hawkfish, can grow up to 60 centimeters (2 feet) long and weigh 4 kilograms (9 pounds)! People sometimes catch the bigger hawkfishes to eat because they are considered tasty.

Hawkfishes as Pets

Many hawkfishes have bright and beautiful colors. This makes them popular fish for home aquariums. They are known for being easy to take care of and can get used to living in a tank quickly.

Some popular pet hawkfish species include the longnose hawkfish. It has a cool red and pink crisscross pattern. Another favorite is the flame hawkfish, which is a vibrant red color.

Where They Live and How They Hunt

Hawkfishes are often found perching on fire corals. These "fire corals" are actually tiny animals called hydrozoans, not true corals. They have stinging cells that would normally hurt other fish. But hawkfishes have large, scaleless pectoral fins that protect them from these stings.

From their high perches on the reef, hawkfishes watch their surroundings carefully, just like a hawk watches from above. This is how they got their common name! They usually stay in shallow parts of the reef, no deeper than 30 meters (100 feet).

Most hawkfishes live alone. But some will live in pairs, sharing a coral head. Other types of hawkfish live in groups called harems. These groups have one big male and up to seven females. Hawkfishes are active during the day. They usually stay still, then suddenly dart out to catch small crustaceans and other tiny invertebrates that swim by.

Reproduction and Life Cycle

Hawkfishes lay their eggs at night, usually near the water's surface. They release many tiny eggs that float away with the ocean currents. These eggs hatch after about three weeks. The long journey the eggs take in the currents helps explain why hawkfishes are found in so many different places.

It's hard to breed hawkfishes in aquariums. Only the longnose hawkfish has been successfully bred in captivity.

Hawkfishes are special because they can change their sex. This is called "protogynous hermaphrodism." It means that if the main male in a group dies, one of the females can change into a male to take his place! It's usually hard to tell male and female hawkfishes apart just by their colors.