Rainbow Runner

Interesting Info

• The Rainbow Runner is one of the ocean’s speedsters, named for its dazzling blue, green, and yellow stripes that look like a rainbow racing through the sea.
• It can grow to an impressive 180 cm (6 ft) and weigh up to 46 kg (101 lb), although most fish are much smaller, between 50–100 cm (1.6–3.3 ft).
• In Australia, Rainbow Runners are found in warm waters off Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and Queensland, extending south into New South Wales, including offshore reefs and islands.
• Globally, they are circumtropical, ranging through the Indo–Pacific, Atlantic, and eastern Pacific Oceans.
• Their body is sleek and built for speed, with two narrow blue-green stripes running along bright yellow sides.
• Rainbow Runners prefer the open ocean and are often seen cruising above reefs, drop-offs, and seamounts in small to large schools.
• They are incredibly fast swimmers, able to dart in and out of bait schools with lightning speed.
• Their diet includes small fish, squid, and zooplankton, which they snatch from the water column while swimming.
• Spawning takes place in offshore waters, with eggs released into the open sea. Juveniles are often found near floating seaweed and debris for shelter.
• Rainbow Runners can live more than 5 years, though most caught are younger.
• They are important prey for tuna, marlin, sharks, and other large predators.
• Divers and snorkellers often encounter them in tropical waters, where their stripes shimmer in the sunlight.