Fish of the Day 55 - I got that humphead in me

Today's fish of the day is the humphead wrasse! Look at that noggin!

Humphead wrasse facts:

- This fish is huge! It's already considered rather big for a reef fish, but among all species of wrasse, the humphead wrasse is the biggest, being able to reach 6ft in length and 400 pounds!! To put it in perspective, the smallest species is no more than 3 inches. That's almost as tall as Sage!

- One of the most prominent features of this fish is the giant bump (hump?) on it's head. You'd assume they use it for fighting, like how many animals with similar features behave, but it is believed to actually be used to indicate the health of males. This both attracts females and scares away other males... however, you won't see them bashing their heads together like rams.

- In the red sea, divers used to feed this fish hard boiled eggs during dives. However, they later found out that feeding them eggs is not good for their health whatsoever, and it resulted in a noticeable decline of the species' population! Now, it's forbidden to feed them eggs as they really can't digest them. 

- The wrasse you see in that photo is a guy. It's easy to tell because females are much more orange than males, and additionally, only males have the bumps! But watch out - if you see an orange humphead wrasse with it's forehead sticking out, that may be a sign that a female is transitioning to male. Multiple species of wrasse can change their sex when sexually mature, and humphead wrasse are no exception.

- Humphead wrasse are very important to coral reefs. Unlike their coral-eating relatives, the parrotfish, humpheads don't help by eating dead coral. Instead, they eat the creature that eats living coral! The crown-of-thorns starfish is notorious for harming reefs, all because of it's diet. Luckily, humphead wrasse can regulate their population and ensure their habitat stays healthy.

- In certain areas, this fish is known as the napoleonfish. If you're a fan of Animal Crossing or Fisch, you may already know that! This nickname comes from the resemblance between the wrasse's hump and napoleon's hat.

Do you got that humphead wrasse in you? It's a very interesting fish, but I don't think I do. I mean, I kinda like eggs, and those are kinda deadly to them.