The California Garibaldi

What They Look Like:

• Size: Can reach up to 14 inches.
• Color: Bright orange, the juveniles ( to about 6 inches) have blue markings.
• Unique Features: Swims at rocky bottoms of the ocean, and is a perch shaped fish.

• Range: Found from Monterey to southern Baja California and Guadalupe Island. They are mostly found from Santa Barbara southward.
• Habitat: They are found in reefs and kelp beds while swimming close to the ocean floor. They are found to depths of 95 feet .

• Diet: Feed during daylight on attached animals such as Sponges, Bryozoans, small Anemones, and occasionally Worms, Nudibranchs, and Crabs.
• Reproduction: Females produce 15,000 to 88,000 eggs. Beginning in Spring, the males begin to tend to the nests. After a courtship ritual, the female enters a male's territory and lays her eggs in the nest. Then the male chases the female off.

• Garibaldis sometimes can live to be seventeen years of age. The Garibaldi is protected by the California state law. Garibaldis are native to Santa Catalina island. The adult male and females are territorial, but the younger fish are not.

Hendry's Beach Home Page

Creatures of the Kelp Forest

Kelp Forest Map

The County Connections Project

Questions or Comments
contact Mark Thompson at

hmarkt@aol.com

---