The mouth is small and it has protruding "buck teeth"[6][8] which it uses to scrape tiny invertebrate prey items off of kelp.

[1] It may cruise in a small school, but if threatened, it often retreats to the bottom, digging into the substrate to hide.

[4] Species that seek the señorita for a grooming include the bat ray (Myliobatis californica), giant sea bass (Stereolepis gigas), kelp bass (Paralabrax clathratus), jacksmelt (Atherinopsis californiensis), topsmelt (Atherinops affinis), sargo (Diplodus sargus), blacksmith (Chromis punctipinnis), garibaldi (Hypsypops rubicundus), opaleye (Girella nigricans), halfmoon (Medialuna californiensis), and mola (Mola mola).

It has been observed in the diet of the kelp bass, the bocaccio (Sebastes paucispinis), and the starry rockfish (S. constellatus), but it is not consumed as often as would be expected, considering its frequent close contact with predators.

[9] Predators that do eat the fish include Brandt's cormorant (Phalacrocorax penicillatus) and the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus).

Some sources suggest it may be a protogynous hermaphrodite, with the female able to change sex and become male,[1] while others doubt this occurs in this species.

[6] The fish tends to return to favorite locations; in one experiment, señoritas were caught and then released a distance away, and most found their way back to their original home ranges.