Bluehead Wrasse

Interesting Info

• The Bluehead Wrasse is a brightly coloured reef fish found throughout the Indo-Pacific, including northern Australia on the Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea, and reefs off Western Australia.
• Males stand out with a glowing blue head and throat, a greenish-yellow body, and pinkish-red spots, while females and juveniles are smaller, duller, and usually greenish or brown with faint patterns.
• Juveniles look completely different to adults, with plain green or brown colours and faint stripes, which helps them hide in algae and rubble until they mature.
• Like many wrasses, they are protogynous hermaphrodites, beginning life as females and some later transforming into colourful, dominant males.
• They are fast, active foragers that dart rapidly across reefs, making quick pecks at corals, rocks, and sand to catch small crustaceans, molluscs, worms, and other invertebrates. They will also nibble on algae when animal prey is scarce.
• Juveniles are especially important as “cleaner fish,” setting up cleaning stations where larger fish such as groupers, parrotfish, and even sea turtles line up to have parasites and dead skin removed. Adults clean occasionally but are less dedicated than juveniles.
• Unlike some wrasses that are solitary, Bluehead Wrasses are often seen in small groups or loose schools, particularly when feeding, which makes them a lively and colourful presence on the reef.
• At night they wedge into reef crevices or bury themselves in sand to avoid predators, emerging again at dawn to resume feeding.
• Males maintain territories on the reef and court females with dashes, fin flaring, and colour displays. Spawning takes place in the water column, where eggs are fertilised externally and drift with the currents until hatching.
• Their lifespan is around 5–7 years in the wild, although many are eaten by predators before reaching this age.
• Divers and snorkellers frequently encounter them on shallow lagoon edges and reef slopes, where their flashing blue heads make them stand out against the coral backdrop. Because of their rainbow colours, they are sometimes referred to as the “Blue-headed Rainbowfish” in dive guides.