Is Snapper a Salt Water Fish Species Live in Ocean?

You might be wondering is snapper a salt water fish or fresh water fish as you also able to found this type of fish in various habitat. Actually snapper itself is a fish that lies inside the perciform family of fishes. This family of fishes has body that appears like perch, but there are more than one thousand of species inside this family and snapper is only one of them. Their habitat is located in subtropical as well as tropical region all around the world. There are around 13 species that includes in the snapper family. 

Is Snapper a Salt Water Fish? Red Snapper Species Information

Those fishes inside this snapper family are also consisting of several food fish that is very important for human and one of the most popular one is the red snapper. But as there are various kinds of snapper available inside this family, then you should know that they also live in various habitats. Most of the species available inside this family live in the ocean, thus they are salt water fish like the red snapper one that is very famous. However, there are also some species that live in estuary habitat where they can also feed by going to the fresh water.

Now, as you ask is snapper a salt water fish, then it is better for us to talk more about the species that live in the salt water such as the red snapper as it is one of the most popular one. This type of snapper lives in the Mexico gulf area where they live in habitat which mostly consists of reef. This salt water snapper can be found in sea water that is around 9 meter deep until around 60 meter deep. But actually they can also live in deeper area which is at 100 meter deep. In their habitat, they will hide in ridge, ledge, or even at the deepest bottom inside the ocean. However, you can also find them hiding at the oil rig as well as shipwreck that drawn inside the ocean.

The red snapper will stay all of their live in salt water environment which make them become a salt water fish. However, they also love to move around new habitat especially when they grow. The reason is because they will need to search for different type of food as well as larger place to stay. But ever since they are younger and still in the form of eggs, they are already living inside sea water. And they never move into brackish water or even the fresh water habitat.

Then is snapper a salt water fish egg release? Actually their eggs are even released inside the sea, but because they release it with special method, then their eggs will be taken up into the surface of the sea. That way, their eggs would not get eaten by other fishes in the bottom of the sea where the adult are staying. Once the eggs are released, then it will need them one day to hatch. After they hatched, then the larvae will stay in the benthic environment which actually open. Then they will gradually move into deeper sea water and stays on the oyster bed. In a year, they will grow into juvenile and they can move into the intermediate sea water that is on the reef region.

One year after that, they will become small red snapper fish which will then ready to go and move toward higher reef region. In this region lives larger size snapper fish as there are more places for them to grow. As you can see, from eggs, they will move toward the bottom part of the sea, then once they grow, they will move little by little to the upper area of the reef. They do not leave the sea water area at all, which is why they can be categorized as snapper that is salt water fish.

How about the red snapper that live in the oil platform is snapper a salt water fish? Yes they are still salt water fish as the red snapper still live inside the ocean where the oil platform is planted. However, they have a little different method on the habitat movement. Especially for the larvae which will say on the higher water column. But once they become the juvenile then they will move into deeper part. But the smaller size fish is still not allowed to cross this territory so they need to have to grow larger first before they can move. There is also the largest red snapper which cannot stay in the oil platform anymore as their size is already too big. They will then move to the open area on the reef and spread out there.

However, even when they are spreading out, that does not mean they will live alone. In fact the red snapper will stay with the other red snapper that has the same size as them. Then they will form school of fishes where they can swim and move around in search for food. Especially since they are gregarious type of fish, thus they would not be separated as they will feel safer when they live within their own species. Of course, they will only move inside the sea water as they are all sea water fishes.

They are also known as top predators in the sea water environment. Especially since not many fishes that has larger size than them in the reef area. Thus they only have small number of predators that feed on them. However, when they are smaller and weaker, they are also become one of the prey from other predator fish inside the reef area. The predator fish is usually one that has larger size than their current size. But once they grow bigger then they will become one of the top in the area. Thus you should not really ask is snapper a salt water fish predators anymore as they are truly one of the top in the area as they feed on various fishes.