Is There Freshwater Grouper Species?

You might be wondering whether there are freshwater grouper species which actually can live and stay inside fresh water environment or not. Most of the time; the one that sold as fresh water species of grouper is the Bumblebee grouper. However, this is actually not true as the grouper is marine species thus there is no such thing as fresh water grouper. But this grouper species can actually live temporarily in brackish environment. Especially for the juvenile, they can adapt to their environment better. Thus they sometimes swim to the fresh water area in search for food. But this does not mean they stay in the fresh water area as they will go back to the brackish water area where they live.

Explanation about Freshwater Grouper Species

The claim that freshwater grouper species is exist and they can breed this fish inside fresh water environment is not true. Even though the Bumblebee grouper can adapt inside the fresh water environment, this will only happen for several years. Then afterwards the grouper fish need to be move into the marine water since it is their original habitat where they should life and grow properly. Thus you should not understand this wrongly since there is no grouper species that is fresh water type of fish.

Now if you want to know about the real grouper fish habitat, let us talk about how they live in their natural marine habitat. Actually you can find this fish that spreading in all oceans in this world. But each species usually choose to live in a specific area where they stay for all of their live. They will start to live near the shore area especially when they are still small in juvenile stage. This is why they would sometimes grow in the brackish water and even go to the fresh water area to search for food. However, most of the time, they will stay in the tidal pool or the sea grass bed as it will give them the most protection. Then for food they will eat various microorganisms inside the water for example plankton, microalgae and also some of the crustacean.

The reason why there is no freshwater grouper species type is because when the juvenile grow bigger into adult, then they will go and move to deeper area of the sea as their natural habitat. In this area, they will feed on various reef fishes such as wrasse, snapper, damselfish, and parrotfish. They would also feed on different types of sea creature for example, crustaceans, lobster, crab, or octopus. That is why; you will find grouper fish stays in the coral reef which can be found in the subtropical as well as tropical region. But unlike other reef fishes, the grouper fish would not form large school. Instead they will stay individually for most of their live. The only time that you can find them forming large school is when their reproduction period has come.

Another reason why there is no freshwater grouper species is because their body is not design for fast swimming or even long distance swimming. That is why; they would not suddenly take miles of distance to go to the fresh water area just to find food. Instead, they will stay hidden in a spot to wait for their prey to come closer and being ambush on the spot. This is possible as the grouper fish has very powerful and fast jaw which can swallow their prey in an instance. Another unique behavior is actually show by several grouper fish species which like to follow ell when it forage on the reef. The reason why they follow the ell is because they will eat the small fish that run away because of the ell forage that actually scary for the small fish.

If you want to know freshwater grouper species predators, then you should know that their predators are also sea water creature as this fish is also live in sea water area. Some of their natural predators are king mackerel, moray eels, barracuda, sandbar shark, as well as hammerhead shark. This is the reason, why they like to stay hidden in one place to avoid that predator. Furthermore, they also develop a unique behavior so they can avoid that predator better by changing the color of their body. They will change the color of their body so it will match the environment better. This is done by their mood change which can quickly change the color of their body so they can camouflage better.

Of course, the grouper fish would not hide for all of their live, as they will need to reproduce which will be done on the winter season at the full moon period. In this period, they will form large school which can even gather 100,000 more fishes at once. This is done so their mating probability will increase and more successful. Not to mention that when the spawn is done in the same period, then this also means the survival rate will also become larger. This is important as the female grouper fish can only spawn once in a year period while male grouper fish can spawn more. But this can be coping as this grouper fish is actually protogynous hermaphrodite thus the number of male grouper fish can be increased anytime it is necessary.

As their natural habitat is actually on the sea, actually their existence is very important for the environment where they stay. The availability of this grouper fish can control the behavior of other predator fishes so it would not overpower the other. This grouper fish is also able to control the population of other fishes in the area so those fishes would not get over populating the area.

With all of the information, then we hope you now know that there is no such thing as freshwater grouper species. Indeed grouper fish can survive in fresh water environment but it is only temporary while they are still young. But once they grow into adult, then they would need to move to the sea environment.