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

A member of the barracuda family, the guaguanche is a
long, slender, silvery fish often mistaken for a young great
barracuda. There is no concerted sportfishing effort for the
species, but it is occasionally caught by anglers.
Identification. Silvery olive-brown above, the guaguanche
has silvery sides with a yellow to golden stripe running along
the middle of its body. Like other members of the barracuda
family, it has an elongated body and large canine and shearing
teeth. Its caudal fin is large, forked, and blackish, and
it has widely separated dorsal fins. The pelvic fin begins
below a point just in front of the first dorsal fin, which distinguishes
it from the similar-looking sennet. On the young
guaguanche, there are three broad bars at the rear of the
body that are often interrupted in the middle of each side.
Size. The guaguanche can grow to 2 feet, although it
more commonly measures 6 to 14 inches.
Food. Guaguanche feed on fish and shrimp.
Guaguanche
Sphyraena guachancho
OTHER NAMES
guachanche barracuda;
Spanish: picuda
guaguanche; French:
bécune guachanche.
Distribution. Found
occasionally in Florida,
the Bahamas, and the
Caribbean, guaguanche
occur from Massachusetts
to the northern Gulf of Mexico
and south to Brazil.
Habitat. Guaguanche
inhabit shallow and generally
turbid coastal waters,
including sand flats, grassbeds,
mud bottoms, bays,
and estuaries, although
they are rare around reefs.
The guaguanche is a
schooling species, forming
schools at depths from 3 to
40 feet, and can be found
near the surface at night.
Guaguanche 95