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Moon Wrasse
Dauin, Philippines.
Is a wrasse of the Labridae family. Its length is up to 30 centimeters, although they tend to average about 25. Juveniles are blue on the lower half of the body. They have a black spot in the middle of the dorsal fin and a black blotch on the caudal fin base. As they mature, the spot turns into a yellow crescent, hence the name. The body is green, with prominently marked scales. Coloration of the head ranges from blue to magenta, with a broken checkerboard pattern. They are protogynous hermaphrodites, all starting off as female and changing to male, a process which, for the moon wrasse, takes only ten days. Some, but not all moon wrasses live in groups consisted of a dominant male, and a "harem" of about a dozen other wrasses, some female and some male. The alpha male is brighter colored, and at every low tide hour, he changes from green to blue, and goes into a show of attacking and nipping all the other wrasses.
Habitat:
Found in the Indo-Pacific oceans at depths of between 1 and 20 m. It has a tendency to stay at the coral reef and surrounding areas.
The moon wrasse is a species of wrasse native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. It is an inhabitant of coral reefs and surrounding areas at depths from 1 to 20 m. Moon wrasses are carnivorous and tend to prey on fish eggs and small sea-floor dwelling invertebrates.
