Exquisite Wrasse

Interesting Info

• The exquisite wrasse is found throughout the tropical waters of Northern Australia, including the Great Barrier Reef, the Coral Sea, and Western Australia. Their distribution also extends to other areas of the Indo-West Pacific region, showcasing their adaptability to different marine habitats.
• The exquisite wrasse is a vibrantly coloured fish. Males have a violet body with a radiant green patch on the back and red, orange, and blue markings. Females are usually reddish-orange with white bellies. Both sexes have a distinctive black spot on the dorsal fin.
• Their diet mainly consists of small invertebrates and zooplankton. They are also known to eat parasites off other fish, providing a cleaning service to larger fish.
• They are social fish and are usually found in small groups or harems consisting of one dominant male and several females.
• Exquisite wrasses are active swimmers and need ample space even in captive environments. They exhibit interesting swimming patterns, often seen darting in and out of crevices in the reef.
• They are protogynous hermaphrodites, meaning they first mature as females and have the ability to change their sex to male when the environmental condition is appropriate, typically when there is a lack of males.
• Estimated lifespan is between 5 and 7 years.