Pirate Perch - Life History

Life History

Many studies have been conducted to analyze the reproductive strategies of the pirate perch. It has been debated on what time of the year the pirate perch breeds, with studies showing instances of breeding from October to December in Florida and even instances of breeding in Louisiana as early as February. It is generally assumed that most breeding occurs around early April until May, however breeding time is largely dependant on latitude. When breeding, pirate perch use underwater root masses as the micro-habitat for their larvae. Females have been observed thrusting their heads into sheltered canals of underwater root masses and releasing eggs. The male perch then come to these sites, enter the canal head-first, and proceed to fertilize the eggs in the same manner they were laid. Females can lay anywhere between 100 and 400 eggs, which is dependent on the body size. They are able to reproduce after one year, and can live up to four years in the wild.