The Sand Perch (Diplectrum formosum), also called the sandperch, sand seabass, sandfish, or squirrelfish, is a small species of fish from the family Serranidae. It lives in the Atlantic Ocean off the eastern coast of North, Central and South America. These small in-shore fish are territorial and loyal to the home hole or crevice that they have made or found. They are brown on top, fading to white underneath, with darker vertical bars, a mid-line stripe ending in a dark spot at the tail, and irregular blue horizontal lines. They have large eyes, a continuous dorsal fin, and a concave tail fin. Rarely growing more than 9 inches long, they prefer shallow bays or reefs. They eat crustaceans and small fish, and often have to avoid being eaten by larger fish like the goliath grouper. Sand perch usually hide in holes or burrows in the sand which is an effective way of hiding from predators. However bottlenose dolphins can use sponges to sift through the sand and catch them.
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