Girdled wrasse
Cirrhilabrus balteatus
- Usual depth7–21 m
- Water temperature28–29 °C
- Best monthsAugust
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Roger Rittmaster, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Cirrhilabrus balteatus, the girdled fairy-wrasse, is a species of fish found in the aquarium trade. In the wild, they are found in the Western Pacific Ocean near the Marshall Islands, but population numbers are unknown. They are usually found at a depth between 25 – 85 feet in shallow lagoons and seaward reefs where rubble collects. The species grows to be about 4 inches in length, and it feeds on zooplankton. Female Cirrhilabrus balteatus are drab reddish-pink with a white belly, while males have a body that varies in colors from purple to pink or greenish-yellow.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Cirrhilabrus balteatus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 0 records
- February: 0 records
- March: 0 records
- April: 2 records
- May: 4 records
- June: 0 records
- July: 0 records
- August: 16 records
- September: 6 records
- October: 2 records
- November: 1 records
- December: 2 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 7–21 m · Deepest record: 26 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 28–29 °C
Photos
(c) Roger Rittmaster, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Girdled wrasse
Similar species
Blue-scaled Fairy WrasseCirrhilabrus cyanopleura
Exquisite wrasseCirrhilabrus exquisitus
Black-finned WrasseCirrhilabrus punctatus
Scott's Fairy-wrasseCirrhilabrus scottorum
Peacock WrasseCirrhilabrus temminckii
- Blackstriped Wrasse
Cirrhilabrus katherinae
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 17 open-data records from 1968 to 2002.
- Species data updated November 1, 2026.
Log what you see on your next dive
The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.