Ken Schultz's Field Guide to Saltwater Fish - Macaw Pets store

The tripletail gets its name from its second dorsal and anal
fins, which extend far back on the body so that the fish
appears to have three tails. A member of the Lobotidae
family, it is an excellent food fish.
Identification. The tripletail is characterized by its rounded
dorsal and anal fins, which reach backward along the caudal
peduncle, giving the fish the appearance of having a threelobed,
or triple, tail. It has a deep, compressed body that
resembles the body shape of the freshwater crappie, and it
has a concave profile. The eyes are far forward on the snout,
and the edge of the preopercle is strongly serrated.
Compared with other saltwater fish, the tripletail probably
most resembles the grouper but lacks teeth on the roof
of the mouth. The color is drab, various shades of yellowbrown
to dark brown, with obscure spots and mottling on
the sides.
Size/Age. The tripletail may reach a length of 3 1 ⁄2 feet
and weigh as much as 50 pounds, although 1 1 ⁄2- to 2 1 ⁄2foot
lengths and weights of less than 20 pounds are more
common. The all-tackle world record is 42 pounds, 5
ounces. The tripletail may live as long as 7 to 10 years.
Life history/Behavior. Although little is known about
their spawning behavior, tripletail are believed to be sexually
mature by the end of their first year. Spawning occurs in
the spring and the summer, and although some fish may
move inshore to spawn, young tripletails have been found
in estuaries and in patches of offshore sargassum. Tripletail
swim or float on their sides in the company of floating
objects.
Food and feeding habits. Tripletail feed almost exclusively
on other fish, such as herring, menhaden, and
anchovies, as well as on eels and benthic crustaceans like
shrimp, crabs, and squid.
Tripletail
Lobotes surinamensis
OTHER NAMES
Atlantic tripletail, brown
tripletail, dusky tripletail,
sleepfish, buoy fish, buoy
bass, chobie, triplefin,
flasher; Afrikaans: driestert;
Bengali: samudra koi;
French: croupia roche;
Japanese: matsudai;
Malay/Indonesian: ikan
tidur, kakapbato, pelayak,
sekusong; Portuguese:
furriel, prejereba; Spanish:
dormilona.
Distribution. Inhabiting
tropical and subtropical
waters of all oceans, tripletail
are found in the western
Atlantic from Massachusetts
and Bermuda to Argentina.
In the eastern Pacific they
occur from Costa Rica to
Peru.
Habitat. Tripletail occur in
coastal waters and enter
muddy estuaries, commonly
in depths of up to 20 feet.
There is some suggestion
of a northerly and inshore
migration into warm
waters in the spring and
the summer.
Tripletail 251