Appearance and lifestyle:
The dassie (Diplodus capensis) is a deep-bodied, oval-shaped fish with a silver body, black patch on its tail peduncle and red-pink tint to the tips of its fins. Juveniles also have several dark vertical bars on each side. They belong to the Sparidae family.
Habitat:
Dassies have a wide range on the Southern African Coast, from Angola to Mozambique. They inhabit a wide range of shallow environments, and juveniles are commonly found in rock pools.
Diet:
It is an omnivore, with a mouth equipped with several rows of molars and canines. They eat algae, small invertebrates, and crustaceans.
Threats:
Some threats faced by hottentots are climate change, overfishing habitat degradation etc. There are bag and size limits that are put in place to prevent overfishing.
Also known as a blacktail or Cape white seabream.
Can grow up to 50cm.