Fishes

Roncador grunt fish
The name roncador means ‘snorer’ in Spanish, as these fish make a snoring or grunting sound as they are pulled from the water by fishermen. These silver-yellow fish grow to around 20cm and in themselves do not appear remarkable but they shoal in quite large groups and the sight of a shoal is mesmerising.

Typically they will ignore the diver, just responding to perceived threats in the water by suddenly all changing direction. But if a diver approaches the middle of the shoal it will part and then come back together as soon as the diver moves on. It is possible to take some dramatic photos in this way. We have several sites off the South West coast of Tenerife where we just know we are going to find shoals of roncadores as they are highly territorial, occupying in the same spot indefinitely, Palm Mar and El Faro being our favourite two. Curiously roncadores are abundant in 6 out of the 7 Canary Islands, but are not found in El Hierro.

Barracuda

It is usual that wherever we find a shoal of roncadores there will be a small group of silvery juvenile barracuda circling overhead looking for an opportunity to pick off a stray one for a snack.

This long, sleek and slender mean-looking creature is known to be a fierce predator, with its strong jaws and sudden speed, but divers have no need to be concerned as they are not known to attack humans. It’s the roncadores that need to look out!

Although they can grow to a length of 150cm, the juveniles that we see most regularly are around 60cm. Adults are more likely to be found in places with current, whilst the juveniles favour calmer waters.

Parrot fish
The parrot fish is so common in the Canaries that if we had a national fish then this should be it!

The female is unmissable with its bright orangey red colouring with patches of yellow and grey and of course the characteristic teeth, whereas the male is a much plainer grey with a black mark behind each gill. The typical size of an adult around Tenerife would be about 30cm although the male is always larger than the female. The teeth are important for dealing with its diet of small invertebrates.

Trumpetfish
The trumpetfish is unmistakeable with its elongated body topped with a long snout with an almost smiling mouth. A black spot is strategically situated either side of the body just before the tail so that it looks like another pair of eyes: hmmm, is that intended to confuse us about which end is the front?

They appear calm and benign, even friendly towards other fish unless, that is, you happen to be one of the small fish they feed on by suddenly sucking them in.

They can be seen at any of our sites but are most abundant at the wreck of El Condesito, where you will see specimens of up to 80cm in length. Individuals are sometimes seen swimming alongside a grouper, behaviour thought to both offer protection against predators and assistance in attacking prey.

Grouper
Grouper are found around the world, most especially in Florida. The species we see in Tenerife is the dusky grouper.

These chilled-out gentle giants are one of the favourites of our divers. They have stout bodies, brown with white markings, and a large down-turned mouth with fat lips. Not built for speed, they lie in wait for passing prey and therefore prefer sites with current. They have strong jaws which can crush their prey though the dusky grouper also has many small teeth, so a varied diet is no problem. They can grow to 1.5m, but it is more common to see them up to 1m. They are sequentially hermaphrodite which means that they start life as a female, in this case for approximately the first 8 years of life, then turn into a male.

Our favourite site for groupers is Barranco del Agua. As this is a 30m dive with current, this is only for experienced divers with the Advanced qualification or above.