These fish are bottom-feeding predators.  They are named for their ability to produce sound by grinding their teeth.  Many are important food fish.  Many grunts and sweetlips are slow reproducing, and have a high vulnerability to ovefishing.

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Plectorhinchus albovittatus, Two-striped Sweetlips
    • Max length 100 cm
    • Juveniles become somewhat deeper-bodied with growth and at about 14 cm, lose the lower stripe and develop a cream-colored belly
    • A 10-cm juvenile is orange with a broad black stripe, one running mid-laterally and the other along the upper sides. Adults are mainly gray with black fin markings. Older juveniles have yellow stripes
    • Found in clear lagoons and seaward reefs, juveniles in shallow turbid coastal areas. Depth range 2 – 50 m
    • Adults usually solitary, occasionally in pairs; on deep reefs or with sea mounts
    • Very low resilience, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years
    • High to very high vulnerability