Atlantic Spadefish

Spadefish get their name from the shape of the bodies. Adults live in large schools in shallow areas, including coral reefs and shipwrecks, where they’re often spotted by scuba divers. They feed by day on tiny marine life such as plankton.

Like many other fish, spadefish reproduce by spawning—a female may lay up to a million eggs that are fertilized in the water! Eggs hatch in just a day into larvae, which grow into adults. Young fish are brown and resemble leaves or seed pods, and they can swim at an angle in shallow water—all of which makes them hard to be seen by predators. As they grow, their four to six vertical stripes become more distinct.