Red-ribbon Wrasse

Interesting Info

• The Red-ribbon Wrasse is found across the Indo-Pacific, including Australia’s northern reefs from Western Australia across the Northern Territory to Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef.
• Its body is bright green to bluish with five bold red to purple stripes running from head to tail, giving the fish its “ribbon” name.
• Males become more vivid than females, especially during courtship, when their colours intensify.
• Juveniles look different — they are usually paler with faint stripes, making them harder to spot on reefs.
• Like many wrasses, it is a sequential hermaphrodite — individuals start life as females and some later change into males as they grow larger.
• The Red-ribbon Wrasse is diurnal, active by day and sleeping in crevices at night.
• They are carnivorous foragers, feeding on small crustaceans, molluscs, worms, and other invertebrates picked from coral rubble and sand.
• These wrasses are fast, darting swimmers, often seen in small groups moving quickly over reef tops.
• They are sometimes confused with the six-bar wrasse (Thalassoma hardwicke), but the Red-ribbon has five strong stripes rather than six.
• Divers and snorkellers frequently see them on coral reef flats and outer slopes, where their striped patterns make them stand out.
• hey are not fished commercially but are occasionally collected for the aquarium trade, where their bright colours appeal to hobbyists.
• The lifespan is about 5–7 years, typical of small reef wrasses.