Silty Wrasse

Interesting Info

• The Silty Wrasse is a common reef fish found in the shallow waters of Western Australia, including the Ningaloo Reef and the Kimberley coast. They have also been found in the Northern Territory and Queensland.
• They have a distinctive long and pointed snout with a dark purplish-brown body and a white or pale belly. They can change colour quickly to blend in with their surroundings or to signal aggression or submission. Juveniles have a different coloration, with a greenish-grey body and a white or pale belly, and horizontal black stripes on the head, which fade as they mature.
• It is a diurnal species, which means that it is most active during the day.
• They are a carnivorous fish and feeds on a variety of small invertebrates, including crustaceans and molluscs, as well as plankton.
• They are hermaphrodites, starting out as females and then changing into males as they mature.
• Breeding season occurs during summer with the fish releasing their eggs and sperm into the water column during this spawning events. The fertilised eggs then hatch into planktonic larvae that drift with the ocean currents until they settle on suitable substrates, where they undergo metamorphosis into juvenile fish.
• Estimated lifespan is up to 10 years.