Curators of the Reef

With around 80 different species, the parrotfish comes in almost every color of the rainbow. These wrasse family members are a permanent fixture on coral reefs worldwide, although you will see the most species diversity in the Indo-Pacific. You can go diving with parrotfish on nearly every warm-water coral reef of the world and see them alone, in pairs, or in large schools, depending on the species.

Parrotfish are constantly trolling coral reefs for algae that grow on the coral, essentially cleaning the reef and allowing new coral areas to grow. Parrotfish grid up the coral they do consume with teeth in their throats and excrete it, creating the white sand that the South Pacific is so famous for. To find out where you can go diving with parrotfish, explore the dive site map below.