Coral Trout
Coral Trout
Plectropomus leopardus
CommonSerranidaeCiguatera risk
ID points
- Orange-red ground covered in tiny blue spots
- Slimmer than most groupers, with a squared-off tail fin
- Sits alone above the reef, ready to dash out at any moment
Basics
- Family
- Serranidae
- Length
- 40–70 cm
- Depth
- 1-100 m
- Regions
- Indo-Pacific reefs
- Distribution
- Indo-Pacific coral reefs
- Habitat
- Coral reefs and reef slopes
- Diet
- Fish, crustaceans
Easily confused with
Coral HindOrange-red ground covered with small blue dots edged in dark
Peacock GrouperDeep brown ground covered in small black-edged blue spots
GrouperLarge head and mouth, with the lower jaw slightly protrudingFun fact
The coral trout is bright red to orange red and peppered all over with blue spots, making it one of the most vividly coloured groupers on the reef. It hunts cooperatively with moray eels: the trout drives prey into a crevice and the moray flushes it back out, and the two share the meal. Its eyes swivel independently over a wide arc, giving it an unusually broad field of view. As a prized food fish it fetches very high prices in the live fish markets of Southeast Asia.