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fishing forecast

red hogfish

Decodon puellaris · Labridae · predator

Reddish wrasse of rocky bottoms around Caribbean islands, with protruding front teeth. It has commercial use and is sold for aquariums.

Also called: bodião-vermelho, doncella de lo alto, doncella de canto, red hogfish

Scientific illustration of Red hogfish
maximum
30 cm
depth
18–275 m
location

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period

Reading the weather across 3 global models and 31 simulations…

the species

everything about the red hogfish

overview

who is the red hogfish

Wrasse of the family Labridae, reaching 30 cm. It occurs in the western Atlantic, from southern Florida, through the Antilles, to Suriname. It lives mainly on rocky bottoms of island areas, from 18 to 275 m deep. Its body is reddish, darker on top and paler on the belly. Adults have protruding front teeth in both the upper and lower jaws. In fishing, it has commercial use and is sold for aquariums.

Essential profile. Identification, where it occurs and rules, with data from FishBase and the cited regulations. Season, time of day, technique and bait are added once we have a good source for the red hogfish.

how to recognize it

identification

Reddish body, darker on top and paler underneath, with yellow lips. It has yellow stripes that start at the nostrils, pass the eye to the edge of the gill cover, and another that crosses the cheek from the eye. The dorsal and anal fins have no scales. The front teeth are protruding, which helps identify adults.

distribution

where found

open on the large map

Western Atlantic, from southern Florida, through the Antilles, to Suriname.

Habitat: Rocky bottoms of island areas, 18 to 275 m deep.

what the law says

rules for the red hogfish

Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.

We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.

catch and release
catch and release Releasing the fish alive, quickly and with a wet hand. During a closed season it isn't always allowed: what the regulation says applies.

No dangerous spines or venom, and it is harmless to handle.

calculator

how much it weighs without taking it out of the water

Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.00955, b = 3.1; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.

estimated weight

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sources and references

Essential profile: size, length-weight, depth, countries and conservation come from FishBase and the cited regulations, and the texts were written from those sources. Season, time of day, sensitivities, technique and baits and lures are not included yet, because we did not find a good source for this species.

  1. scientific FishBase: Decodon puellaris (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
  2. scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Decodon puellarisNames by country and language.