Quoy's parrotfish

Quoy's parrotfish is a marine fish of the family Scaridae, native to reefs of the western Pacific. Like other parrotfish it has a beak-like fused dental plate used to scrape algae from rock and coral, and it displays marked color change with sex and phase, from drabber initial-phase browns and greens to brighter blue-green terminal-phase males. It is a generally peaceful but active fish that grazes constantly and grows fairly large, requiring substantial swimming space. It needs a very large aquarium with abundant live rock and mature algal growth, plus strong filtration to handle its heavy grazing and waste. It is primarily herbivorous, feeding on algae and needing plentiful marine vegetable foods, and it also ingests some coral and rock in the process. Because of its size, appetite and habit of rasping surfaces, it is challenging to maintain and generally suited to large, dedicated systems rather than typical reef tanks.