Year-round residents are typically small in size and cryptic. The emerald clingfish (Acyrtops beryllina) is a tiny epiphytic fish only found associated with turtle grass. Common year-round resident fish of south Florida seagrass habitats include the pipefishes (Syngnatus spp.), seahorses (Hippocampus spp.), and the inshore lizardfish (Synodus foetens). Parrotfish (Sparisoma spp.) reside in the clear waters of the Florida Keys, feeding directly on blades of seagrass. Sharptail eels (Myrichthys breviceps) and young moray eels (Gymnothorax spp.) forage in seagrass beds for mollusks and other prey.

Seasonal residents are fishes that spend part of their life cycle in seagrass beds, mainly as a nursery area for spawning and/or juvenile development. The spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) and silver perch (Bairdiella chrysura) are among seasonal residents that are common as juveniles in seagrasses. Other seasonal species include pigfish (Orthopristis chrysoptera), blue-striped grunt (Haemulon scirus), French grunt (H. flavolineatum), ceasar grunt (H. carbonarium) and the tomtate (H. aurolineatum).

Coral reef fishes often utilize seagrasses as nurseries. Juveniles of the ocean surgeonfish (Acanthurus bahianus) and the doctorfish (A. chirurgus) are commonly observed residing among seagrasses. The spotted goatfish (Pseudupeneus maculatus), yellow goatfish (Mulloidicthys martinicus), gag grouper (Mycteroperca microlepis), gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus), spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus), and southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma) also occur as juveniles in seagrass habitats. The bucktooth parrotfish (Sparisoma radians), redtail parrotfish (S. chrysopterum) and the emerald parrotfish (Nicholsina usta) all reside in seagrass beds as juveniles as well as immature adults.

A commercially valuable group of fishes, the snappers, are common throughout south Florida’s seagrass habitats. These include the gray snapper (Lutjanus griseus), lane snapper (L. synagris), schoolmaster (L. apodus), mutton snapper (L. analis), dog snapper (L. jocu), and yellowtail snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus).

White grunts (Haemulon plumeri) are abundant in the turtle grass beds of south Florida, while other grunts such as the porkfish (Anisotremus virginicus) rarely occur in these habitats. Other species of grunts are present as juveniles in these waters.

Seagrass beds of south Florida include large numbers of reef fishes when the beds are adjacent to coral reefs. Fishes find shelter on the reef during the day, moving to seagrass beds at night to forage. Grunts and gray snappers (Lutjanus griseus) live diurnally on the reefs and feed nocturnally over seagrasses. Other nocturnal visitors include hardhead catfish (Arius felis), fantail mullet (Mugil gyrans), Atlantic thread herring (Opisthonema oglinum), scaled sardine (Harengula jaguana), silver perch (Bairdiella chrysura), and ladyfish (Elops sarus). On the other hand, species occurring over seagrasses only during the day include jenny mojarra (Eucinostomus gula), pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides), and flathead mullet (Mugil cephalus). Offshore migrants such as nurse sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum), smalltooth sawfishes (Pristis pectinata), southern stingrays (Dasyatis americana), and Atlantic stingrays (Dasyatis sabina) visit seagrass habitats in search of prey.