French Grunt

The French Grunt is one of the most abundant and recognizable grunt species on Caribbean coral reefs, displaying an attractive pattern of bright yellow to golden horizontal stripes running along a silvery-blue body. The stripes are particularly vivid above the lateral line, while the lower body tends toward a more silvery white with yellow accents. The inside of the mouth is red, visible when the fish engages in the characteristic 'kissing' or jawlocking behavior used in territorial disputes with conspecifics. Reaching about 12 inches, it is a medium-sized, moderately proportioned grunt.

In the wild, Haemulon flavolineatum is one of the most common reef fish throughout the Caribbean and Western Atlantic, from Bermuda and South Carolina through the Bahamas and Caribbean to Brazil. Like other grunts, it forms large daytime resting aggregations of dozens to hundreds of individuals beneath coral overhangs, ledges, and within reef crevices. At twilight, these schools disperse as individual fish move to adjacent seagrass beds, sand flats, and rubble areas to feed on small crustaceans, worms, and mollusks. This daily migration pattern plays an important ecological role in transferring nutrients from feeding areas back to reef habitats.

In the aquarium, the French Grunt is a hardy, beginner-friendly species that adapts readily to captive conditions. It is best kept in groups to display natural schooling behavior, though this requires a tank of at least 125 gallons. It accepts a wide variety of frozen and prepared foods from the outset and is remarkably disease-resistant. While not reef-safe due to its diet of invertebrates, it makes an excellent addition to large FOWLR or Caribbean-themed community tanks.