Sixbar Wrasse

Interesting Info

• The Sixbar Wrasse is a tropical reef fish found across the Indo-Pacific, including Australia from Western Australia across the Top End to Queensland, extending south into northern New South Wales and offshore islands like Lord Howe and Norfolk.
• It grows to around 20 cm (8 in), with most reef fish being 12–15 cm (5–6 in), and usually weighs under 250 grams.
• Its body is pale green to bluish-green with six dark wedge-shaped bars and pink to purple facial lines radiating from the eyes, giving the species its name.
• Males are brighter, while females and juveniles are duller with camouflage tones, helping them avoid predators among sand and rubble.
• Juveniles can mimic small damselfish in colour and behaviour, which may reduce predator attention.
• They are very active by day, darting constantly across reef flats to pick at crustaceans, molluscs, worms, fish eggs, and tiny planktonic animals like foraminiferans.
• Young wrasses sometimes act as part-time “cleaner fish,” removing parasites from larger reef species before transitioning fully to invertebrate hunting as adults.
• Sixbar Wrasses are protogynous hermaphrodites, starting life as females before some change into males that defend territories and display brighter colours.
• Spawning occurs in the water column, where males and females rise briefly before releasing eggs and sperm that drift with currents until hatching.
• They can change the brightness of their colours rapidly, especially during spawning displays or when threatened by predators.
• At night they hide in crevices or sand to avoid predators such as groupers, trevallies, and moray eels.
• Their lifespan is typically 5–7 years but may extend to 8 years in protected environments, although many are eaten before reaching old age.
• By feeding on small invertebrates and eggs, they play a role in balancing reef ecosystems and preventing outbreaks of tiny reef-dwelling animals.