Spanish Hogfish

The Spanish hogfish is a member of the wrasse family. The main body is bright yellow, to what almost looked orange on the ones we saw, with a blue/purple to reddish upper body (the ones we saw were very purple). They have a piggish looking snout that gives them their name. 

Spanish hogfish in Carlisle Bay, Barbados, swimming with sergeant major fish. 

They are found in the western Atlantic from southern Florida through the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico to southern Brazil. They have little commercial importance, but can be found in the aquarium trade. 

We saw a number of them in Carlisle Bay, Barbados, in an area where ships were sunk to provide a platform for a reef. Unlike the sergeant major fish which were all around us, the Spanish hogfish we saw were always well below us. But their colorful orange and purple bodies really stood out. 

There are two in this photo, one to the left and one in the far bottom right.