Diplodus puntazzo (Cetti, 1777)

Photos & text by John Reclos. Top: Aegean Sea, Serifos island, August 2004, bottom: Saronic gulf, August 2004.

Original drawing in "Guid d'identification des poissons marins Europe et Mediterranee" by Patrick Louisy

Family: SPARIDAE

Genus: Diplodus

Species: puntazzo

Natural habitat: this species lives close to rocky and sandy bottoms. I find it near crevices and rocks covered with algae.

Depth: from very shallow waters to 50 m. I usually find them in depths from 1 to 15 meters.

Size: up to 60 cm of (TL) length and weight up to 2 kilograms, but adult animals usually reach about 25 cm.

Food: It is an omnivore feeding on worms, mussels, shrimps, and algae.

Dis­tribution: Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, east Atlantic Ocean from Gulf of Gascoigne(France) to Sierra Leone. Canary Islands, Cape Verde islands.

Common name: sharpsnout seabream.

General information: These fish are considered to have very tasty meat and are generally appreciated, although some people think that due to its feeding habits, its meat has a taste of iodine.  Not very suitable for aquariums containing invertebrates because it will readily attack all the crustaceans available and even some types of algae. On the other hand, it can be easily kept in a fish only tank in which case I would suggest an aquarium with a volume of at least 600 liters or bigger. In the wild it is usually seen solitarily, so there is not a need for a school. Suitable companion in the aquarium would be wrasses.