Blue-and-Gold Snapper: The Reef's Striped Crowd

Few reef fish are as instantly recognizable as the blue-and-gold snapper, with its electric blue lines running the length of a golden body. Finding a school of them is a highlight of any swim near Jacó. Here's how to spot them, plus five fun facts.

Blue-and-Gold Snapper · Lutjanus viridis

How to spot the blue-and-gold snapper near Jacó

Look for tight, hovering schools near rocky outcrops and ledges. The bright blue stripes on a yellow-gold body make them easy to pick out even from a distance. They often hang almost motionless together, then drift as one when you approach.

5 fun facts about the blue-and-gold snapper

• Those stripes are a signal. The bold blue-and-gold pattern helps the fish recognize and stay with their own school in open water.
• Safety in numbers. They school by the dozens or hundreds — a moving mass that makes it hard for a predator to target any single fish.
• Small but striking. Blue-and-gold snapper stay fairly small for a snapper, usually well under a foot, which is part of why they school so tightly.
• Reef by day, hunt by night. Like their cousins, they rest in the school during daylight and spread out to feed after dark.
• An Eastern Pacific specialty. They're found only along the Pacific coast of the Americas, so they're one of the signature reef fish of this region.

The blue-and-gold snapper is just one of many characters down there. See the whole cast in our Snorkel Jaco fish directory, or read real guest photos and reviews on the Snorkel Jaco reviews.