Fun Olive Rock Fish Facts For Kids

The Olive Rockfish (Sebastes Serranoides) belong to the Sebastidae family found in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the range includes Oregan, Baja California, Mexico. The primary spots for fishing are found in California, Santa Barbara, Monterey Bay. These fishes are mostly found in nearshore waters and prefer the depth of around 570 ft and are known to stay or rest in coral reefs or kelp forests. These fishes are dark olive to brown in color and the underparts of these fishes are light or beige. The head of these species have no spines and has 12-14 dorsal-fin and three anal fin spines. These species are very similar looking to the bass fishes and yellowtail rockfish. These fishes primarily feed on small fishes, crustaceans, invertebrates. These can be spotted in groups sometimes which can be mixed with blue rockfish and copper rockfish. Mating of these fishes takes place in fall and the birth is given to live young. The fishing spots or range for these fishes include Santa Barbara, Monterey Bay, and when fishing for these fishes look for rocky spots and underwater vegetation areas. The conservation status of this fish is Not Extinct.

It is interesting to know about the Olive Rockfish (Sebastes Serranoides) and if you are interested, read about Reef Shark and Zebra Shark.

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What type of animal is an Olive Rock Fish?

Olive Rockfish is a fish.

What class of animal does an Olive Rock Fish belong to?

Olive Rockfish belongs to the class of Actinopterygii or ray-finned fishes.

How many Olive Rock Fishs are there in the world?

There has been no specific number of these fishes recorded or estimated.

Where does an Olive Rock Fish live?

These fish inhabit the eastern Pacific Ocean and the range includes Oregan, Baja California, Mexico. The primary spots for fishing are found in California, Santa Barbara, Monterey Bay.

What is an Olive Rock Fish's habitat?

Olive Rockfish is mostly found in nearshore waters. These fishes prefer the depth of around 570 ft and are known to stay or rest in coral reefs or kelp forests. These fishes tend to be at the bottom during the night and can be observed near the surface in the day. The preferred temperatures for Olive Rockfish is between 54.5-70.7 degrees F.  

Who does Olive Rock Fish live with?

Olive Rockfish is mostly solitary and can also be spotted in small groups. These groups can be mixed with other species like blue rockfish and copper rockfish.

How long does an Olive Rock Fish live?

Olive Rockfish is known to live for up to 30 years.

How do they reproduce?

As this species is poorly studied, not much information is available about these species but it is believed that the mating of these fishes takes place in the fall. The fertilization takes place internally and live young are born. The larvae are released once a year and this takes place in winter from December to March. These larvae remain planktonic for about 3-6 months and then settle out or move out of the plankton. These fishes mature and spawn when they are 3-4 years old.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status of these fishes is Not Extinct.

What does Olive Rock Fish look like?

*Please note that this is an image of a Yellowtail Rockfish, a close relative of the Olive Rockfish. If you have an image of the Olive Rockfish, let us know at [email protected]

This species is slender and lengthened or enlarged very similar to that of a bass. The color of the body is olive or brown and the underside of the body is beige or light-colored. The head of these fishes has no spines. The snout of this species is long and pointed and the lower part of the jaw extends outwards. This rockfish has 12-14 dorsal-fin and three anal fin spines. The area or the part of the body under the dorsal fin is light or pale than the other parts.  

How cute are they?

Olive Rockfish is not considered cute.

How do they communicate?

There is not much information available about the communication of the Olive Rockfish.

How big is an Olive Rock Fish?

Olive Rockfish have a similar size to other rockfishes like the yellow rockfish and their length ranges from 10-24 in (254-610 mm).

How fast can an Olive Rock Fish swim?

The exact speed of the Olive Rockfish is unknown but they are known to be good swimmers.

How much does an Olive Rock Fish weigh?

The weight of these fishes can be up to 5 lb (2.26 kg).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no specific names for the males and females of the Olive Rockfish (Sebastes Serranoides) species.

What would you call a baby Olive Rock Fish?

There is no particular name for a baby Olive Rockfish.

What do they eat?

These fishes primarily feed on small fishes, crustaceans, worms, and invertebrates like squid, octopus, crabs.

Are they poisonous?

These fishes are not poisonous.

Would they make a good pet?

Not much information is available about these fishes as pets.

Did you know...

The binomial or scientific name of the Olive Rockfish Serranoides has its roots in the Latin and Greek languages meaning resembling a bass. These fishes are very similar looking to bass fish and both the species are often confused with each other.

The fishing techniques include boat fishing, casting by the pier. To find these fishes, look in kelps and underwater vegetation abundant areas and also rocky crevices or surfaces. Your equipment should be appropriate for rocky surfaces and similar types of habitat. Swimbaits and streamer flies are known to work best and some great baits include anchovies, bloodworms, and ghost shrimps as these fishes feed on such baits. The depth of these fish's habitat is up to 570 ft.

While these fishes are quite similar to the yellowtail rockfish, there are certain differences too. The caudal fin of the Olive Rockfish is olive-brown in color while the yellowtail rockfish have this fin in yellow color. The Olive Rockfish does not have brown speckles as yellowtail rockfish.

Olive Rockfish is also known as Johnny Bass.

The predators of this fish includes sharks, dolphins, and pinnipeds.

Olive Rockfish are known to be in competition with the kelp bass for shelter and food.

The biggest known or recorded olive rockfish, Sebastes Serranoides is 2 ft long and the heaviest recorded was around 5 lb (14 oz).

Do they bite?

The Olive Rockfish (Sebastes Serranoides) are known to not bite.

Do humans eat them?

Rockfishes are quite popular as food and olive rockfish are the best mild-flavored or tasting fishes. You can cook the Olive Rockfish just like other rockfishes by pan-searing them with the infusion of herbs like dill, rosemary, and thyme but it is believed that these fishes taste best when fried.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other fish including loach and Atlantic cod.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our olive rock fish coloring pages.

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*Please note that this is an image of a Yellowtail Rockfish, a close relative of the Olive Rockfish. If you have an image of the Olive Rockfish, let us know at [email protected]