Cloud Wrasse

Interesting Info

• The Cloud Wrasse, is a small reef wrasse found across the tropical Indo-Pacific, including northern Australia, the Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea, Western Australia, and offshore islands such as Christmas and Cocos (Keeling).
• The species is named for its “cloudy” pattern of mottled spots and bars that vary from greenish to brownish tones, helping it blend in with reef and rubble environments.
• Males and females are similar in general pattern, but males may develop brighter colours with more distinct facial markings during breeding periods.
• Juveniles are usually pale with fine mottling and often display a false eyespot near the tail, which helps distract predators.
• Cloud Wrasses are opportunistic feeders, consuming small benthic invertebrates such as polychaete worms, amphipods, copepods, and tiny crustaceans picked from sand and coral surfaces.
• They are diurnal foragers, active during the day and sheltering in reef crevices at night for protection from nocturnal predators.
• Like many wrasses, they are protogynous hermaphrodites: individuals begin life as females and may transition into males as they grow larger or when dominant males are absent.
• Spawning occurs in pairs or small groups at dusk, with fertilised eggs released into the water column to drift with currents until hatching.
• Their lifespan is not well studied but is likely 4–6 years, consistent with other small *Halichoeres* wrasses.
• The name nebulosus means “cloudy” in Latin, a direct reference to their mottled, cloud-like body markings.