Common Name: Candy Wrasse

Distribution: Uncommon in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region: from East Africa to the Hawaiian, Society and Austral Islands, north to the Izu Islands, south to Lord Howe Islands. In Australia recorded from the Coral Sea and northern Great Barrier Reef in Queensland and northern New South Wales.

Ecological Notes: Frequents clear lagoon and seaward reefs, common over coral rubble with algal clumps or in areas dominated with live coral. Depth 2 – 61 m, usually deeper than 21 m.

Additional Notes: Green, blue and yellow stripes on side, blue edged black bar on tail of male, female pale to dark pink with no distinctive markings (see lower photograph). Females and primary phase best distinguished by yellow eye and presence of males nearby. Benthic feeder, constantly moving over the substrate. Grows to 12 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.330.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=Pseudojuloides+cerasinus. Accessed 04/07/18.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/Pseudojuloides-cerasinus.html. Accessed 04/07/18.