Little Rainbow Wrasse

Interesting Info

• The Little Rainbow Wrasse, lives only on the south-west coast of Western Australia, from the Recherche Archipelago up to the Houtman Abrolhos Islands.
• These fish love shallow rocky reefs covered with kelp and seaweed, usually in waters only a few metres deep.
• Males are like little rainbows, glowing with green, yellow, red, and turquoise lines that shimmer when the light hits them underwater.
• Females and youngsters are much plainer, usually greenish with black bars and small spots that help them hide among the seaweed.
• These wrasses are quick and curious, often darting around kelp beds in small groups.
• At night they tuck themselves into the sand for safety, vanishing from sight until morning.
• They feed on tiny creatures like little crabs, shrimps, and worms, picking them off rocks and algae with their sharp teeth.
• Every Little Rainbow Wrasse begins life as a female, and some later change into brightly coloured males that defend their own patch of reef.
• During summer the males brighten up even more, showing off their colours to attract females for spawning.
• When it is time to breed, pairs rise into the water and release tiny eggs that drift away with the current until they hatch.
• They live for only about three to five years, which is short but busy for such a small reef fish.
• The fish is named after Dr Gerald R. Allen, a famous Australian scientist who has discovered many new reef species.