Inhabits shallow water; rocky or clay-silt bottom . Bears live young. Gregarious during all life. Feeds on euphausiids, decapods, mysids, small mollusks and fishes. Ovoviviparous . A long-lived species with estimated life span of 30-50 years, slow growing and has low fecundity. Late juveniles (11-20 cm total length) were primarily associated with boulder reefs that have deep interstices amongst the boulders; as well as in exposed boulders that do not have crevices along their lower margins, but are surrounded by dense patches of cerianthid anemones, Cerianthus borealis . The use of both boulder and cerianthid habitats are either on an encounter basis, regardless of habitat saturation or predation pressure, or because boulder reefs serve as recruitment habitats, and cerianthid habitats serve as a conduit for redfish moving away from saturated boulder reef sites .
