Blue Razorfish

Interesting Info

• The Blue Razorfish, also called the Peacock or Knife Razorfish—is a sleek, blade-shaped wrasse found across the Indo-Pacific. In Australia, it’s seen from WA’s north coast through the Great Barrier Reef and south to New South Wales and Lord Howe Island.
• Adults dazzle with blue-green to violet shades, vertical bands, and a black spot by the pectoral fin—terminal males glow with extra iridescent blues.
• Juveniles are true masters of disguise, with a body that mimics a drifting leaf and a long “flag” dorsal fin that floats like a ribbon.
• When startled, both juveniles and adults perform a lightning-fast head-first dive into the sand, disappearing in a split second—thank their knife-like forehead for that!
• These wrasses usually swim solo in lagoon and reef areas with sandy bottoms. Adults are rarely seen in waters shallower than about 20 m, while juveniles sometimes visit estuaries.
• They feed on hard-shelled treats like molluscs, crabs, and small invertebrates, picking them off the sand with precision.
• They’re protogynous hermaphrodites—everyone starts life as a female, and some later change into males, often seen guarding harems.
• Adults often stand on sandy flats, backs to currents—some can even “swim” through sand for short distances to escape predators.
• Spawning usually happens in pairs or small groups at dusk, with eggs released into the open ocean to drift away as plankton.
• They are diurnal, active during the day and burrow into sand to hide or rest at night.
• Their lifespan is estimated at 5–7 years in the wild.
• The species name pavo means “peacock,” a fitting name for the bright, flashy colours of adult males.