Yellowfin Grouper

[Scuba Kid]

I collected a small yellowfin grouper yesterday as part of the first of the tropical strays we get during late summer (juveniles are carried by the gulf stream from tropical waters up to northern waters). He's a tiny little guy, about an inch and a half. I have limited information on these guys though....I know they max around 3 feet or so and are a popular gamefish around Florida...but thats about it. Can anyone give me more information about keeping them in aquaria? Like temperment, etc. Are they like most other groupers? Anything you can tell me, I'd love to hear it.

 

[big train]

I would like to see a pic of a yellow fin grouper can u post 1? I have a blue lined grouper a blue lined trigger but i can't help with any yellow fin grouper details.How did u catch him with a net when it was near the surface? i sure would like to find some wild caught tropical fish that's pretty cool dude.

 

[Scuba Kid]

Haven't taken a pic yet, but I will try to post one up soon. I caught him using a seine net through some eel grass. I collect fish by snorkeling with a hand net and seining. Its a lot of fun, and I've gotten some awesome stuff. The short bigeye in my avater was one I've collected and I've gotten stuff like lookdowns, couple different species of damsels, spotfin butterflies, cowfish, bandtail puffers, snowy grouper, pilot fish, couple different jacks, orange filefish, planehead filefish.....and many others.

 

[vicedretard]

i want to see that pic too...

 

[Scuba Kid]

Well here are a couple pics.....does anyone have any info on them?

 

[chrisdef15]

Not sure of the specic species but ide say its like any grouper.
Territorial with other similar groupers and eat anything that fits in there mouth. Thats probably about it.

 

[spotfin]

Nice catch! Do they have yellow on the pectrol fins at that size? Is this the first one you have caught in your area?

 

[Scuba Kid]

First one I've caught since in the 4 or 5 years I've been collecting.

I think its a yellowfin grouper, mostly due to the markings on the body. I haven't seen any yellow markings on the pectoral fins, but I was thinking its because he's so small and maybe that will show up later. He could be another species, I'm not totally sure yet.

 

[spotfin]

The Black Grouper is very similar in appearance, minor differences in the shape of the body spots and tail margins. The Black Grouper is also more likely to be found up the Atlantic seacoast. It will be interesting to see if the colors and pattern change as it grows. Keep us updated!

If you don't have it already, this is a great book for Florida/Caribbean fish id: http://www.fishid.com/cgi-bin/shop.cgi?action=init&product=FISH_ID

 

[Scuba Kid]

Thank you very much. I'll definitely look into that book.

I did have Our Native Fishes by John R. Quinn, and he writes a lot about tropical strays with the fish he lists. Interestingly almost everything I've ever caught has been discussed in his book. lol
If I hadn't misplaced it, I would have looked to see what groupers he describes. A new one is in the mail though, so hopefully it will shed some light on this. The book you linked to looks very good though, I'll probably look into purchasing that one as well.

Thanks.