Anampses caeruleopunctatus – Bluespotted Wrasse

Anampses caeruleopunctatus – Bluespotted Wrasse

We do not yet have a description for Anampses caeruleopunctatus – Bluespotted Wrasse.

Their common name is Bluespotted Wrasse or Diamond Wrasse.

Gender and color change

All Bluespot Wrasses start life as females. Because they live in a harem, there are not many males. When the dominant male of the group dies, one of the females turns into a male. The colors of the female then change along with it. The fish can therefore be distinguished by color. They go through three stages called phases.

Phase 1 – Initial phase

In the first stage, the fish is completely female. This is referred to as the initial phase.

Stage 2

The fish is now a transitional male. We don’t have a picture of this available yet. In this phase, the female becomes a male. In a group of Bluespotted Wrasses, the group may have one dominant male, several females and one or two transitional males. In the wild, these transitional males can still change back into females.

Phase 3 – Terminal phase

The fish is now completely male. They can’t change back now. Because the fish cannot change back, this is also called the terminal phase.

Author

John de Lange

Copyright images

Francois Libert (Zsispeo) – CC BY-NC-SA 2.0