Redband Wrasse

Interesting Info

• The Redband Wrasse is endemic to Australia, specifically ranging from Port Lincoln and the Investigator Group (islands) in South Australia to the Houtman Abrolhos in Western Australia. It is most common in southwest WA.
• Male fish flash bright colours: a greenish-red body with two broad white stripes along the lower sides, a brilliant red anal fin, yellow tail, and a bold black stripe edged with yellow on the dorsal fin. Females and juveniles are more muted, with tiny black spots along the back and base of the dorsal fin.
• It prefers rocky, algae-covered reefs, particularly where macroalgal kelp beds flourish on exposed coasts.
• They feed during the day on tiny invertebrates like crustaceans and molluscs, foraging among kelp and rocky surfaces.
• At night, Redband Wrasses wedge themselves tightly into crevices or among kelp bases to avoid predators, emerging again with the daylight.
• As a protogynous hermaphrodite, individuals begin as females, but some later change to males to lead harems.
• Males maintain small territories and displays during spring and summer breeding, although detailed spawning behaviour isn’t widely documented.
• Unlike many wrasses that thrive on tropical coral reefs, the Redband Wrasse is specially adapted for life in cooler southern waters where kelp and macroalgae dominate.
• Likely lives around 5–7 years in the wild, typical of temperate wrasses of its size.