The physiological responses of two species of coral trout (Plectropomus maculatus and Plectropomus leopardus) to capture, shallow water and low salinity stressors were investigated. The responses of P. maculatus and P. leopardus to capture stress were characterised by rapid and transient increases in glucose, haemoglobin, haematocrit and lactate, as well as an equally dramatic but delayed increase in cortisol levels that persisted for at least 72 h. The magnitude and duration of the response to capture stress was very similar in both species. In contrast, the levels of cortisol, glucose, lactate, haemoglobin and haematocrit were generally elevated sooner and to higher levels in P. maculatus than in P. leopardus after exposure to shallow water stress. Coral trout exposed to reduced salinity showed minimal changes in cortisol, glucose, lactate, haemoglobin and haematocrit, but such changes were not characteristic of a non-specific response to stress. Thus, the physiological stress responses of coral trouts are species-specific and dependent on the nature of the stressor. This observation probably reflects different cortical processes in the brains of P. maculatus and P. leopardus-a result that may be related to the differential variability of the respective environments in which the two species habit.