Sergeant Major Egg Patches
If you’re snorkeling at Devil’s Table or diving at any shallow depth around Bequia it’s likely you’ll see lots of Sergeant Majors. Distinctive with their five vertical black bands and abundant, often in a school of hundreds at Devil’s Table, they’re easy to spot. You might also have noticed that these are feisty little fish who become very territorial over particular areas.
Look a little closer and you'll notice that the sergeant major intent on attacking you is darker colored than normal and very close by there's a bright purple patch, usually on the side of a rock. So what's this all about? Reproduction! During November to April sergeant majors are courting and laying eggs and this aggressive behavior is dad making sure no-one eats his kids. Spotting fish eggs underwater is fairly rare but once you spot a patch of these you'll notice dozens of others nearby.
When the eggs are bright purple they're freshly laid and over the next 6-7 days they will slowly change color as the embryo develops. Dad will stick around until the eggs hatch when presumably he'll go off to the pub for a well earned beer or two.
At Devil's Table the reef butterflyfish, seen above left, have a voracious appetite for these eggs even using divers as cover to launch a stealth attack. Recently I've been pecked on the head by a scrawled filefish who thought I was competition for this fishy delicacy!
Thanks to Tamsin Eyles for the photos.
Look a little closer and you'll notice that the sergeant major intent on attacking you is darker colored than normal and very close by there's a bright purple patch, usually on the side of a rock. So what's this all about? Reproduction! During November to April sergeant majors are courting and laying eggs and this aggressive behavior is dad making sure no-one eats his kids. Spotting fish eggs underwater is fairly rare but once you spot a patch of these you'll notice dozens of others nearby.
When the eggs are bright purple they're freshly laid and over the next 6-7 days they will slowly change color as the embryo develops. Dad will stick around until the eggs hatch when presumably he'll go off to the pub for a well earned beer or two.
At Devil's Table the reef butterflyfish, seen above left, have a voracious appetite for these eggs even using divers as cover to launch a stealth attack. Recently I've been pecked on the head by a scrawled filefish who thought I was competition for this fishy delicacy!
Thanks to Tamsin Eyles for the photos.
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