Marine Life

Treefish
(Sebastes serriceps)
Courtesy of Tom Haight

This species of rockfish is plainly striped with dark green to blackish bands, yellow to olive body coloration and pink lips. The Treefish is territorial and uses these pink lips to show aggression when another Treefish enters it's territory. They can grow up to 16 inches but it is far more common to see them in the 8 to 12 inch range. Living alone in crevices in the reef you can find these fish in water as deep as 150 feet. As with many Rockfish, Treefish feed on small fish and invertebrates. Brightly colored juveniles can often be spotted under drifting kelp paddies.

Following is a short video clip of a treefish in its habitat, courtesy of Tom Haight Marine Wildlife Photography. If the video clip does not automatically display, you may be prompted to download a plug-in that will enable you to view the video file.

    (3.5MB .avi file)