General
Epinephelus melanostigma is a coral reef-associated species occurring in outer reef flats and shallow lagoons (Myers 1999), reportedly in depths less than 7 m (Heemstra and Randall 1993) although also reported to occur in reefs at a depth of about 30 m (Fischer et al. 1990) and has appeared in trawls (Gloerfelt-Tarp and Kailola 1984). Its maximum size is reported to be 35.0 cm TL (Kuiter and Tonozuka 2001). There are reports of ciguatera poisoning for this species (Dalzell 1991).

Feeding
Feeds on fishes and benthic crustaceans (Masuda and Allen 1993).