I’ve included Bar Jacks in my Fish Coloring Book because they are a fairly common sight, they have beautiful coloring and some really interesting behaviors. Bar Jacks might seem ordinary at first glance but when the light catches their scales, they light up like an iridescent silvery-blue rainbow.
You can read about this project in the post “A Fish Journal for a six-year-old” and you can see all the posts for this project using the tag “Fish Coloring Book“.
Although most Jacks swim in the open ocean, Bar Jacks are an exception- they like to hang out above the reef and feed opportunistically. They have been known to forage with goatfish on the bottom and shadow stingrays waiting for a free snack.
Bar Jacks aren’t shy fish! They like to swim along above the reef – sometimes next to divers and underneath snorkelers! Maybe they’re curious, or maybe they like the bubbles from divers!
Sometimes they swim alone or in small groups and sometimes in huge schools. Big schools of Bar Jacks have even been known to swirl around a diver!
Erica Lauer Vose 