Blue-scaled Fairy Wrasse
Cirrhilabrus cyanopleura
- Usual depth3–22 m
- Water temperature23–30 °C
- Best monthsJanuary, April, and May
- How commonOccasional
Photo credit: (c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by portioid · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The blueside wrasse is a species of wrasse native to the eastern Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. It is found on reefs in schools swimming 1 to 2 m above the bottom. It occurs at depths from 2 to 30 m, most often between 5 and 20 m. This species can reach a standard length of 15 cm (5.9 in). It can be found in the aquarium trade.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Blueside wrasse”, 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: 57 records
- February: 29 records
- March: 42 records
- April: 61 records
- May: 70 records
- June: 19 records
- July: 31 records
- August: 16 records
- September: 44 records
- October: 36 records
- November: 46 records
- December: 41 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 3–22 m · Deepest record: 34 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 23–30 °C
Photos
(c) Nicola Crockford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Nicola Crockford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Ditch Townsend, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
(c) libby hepburn, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Ditch Townsend, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Blue-scaled Fairy Wrasse, Blueside Wrasse, Coralline Wrasse, Yellow-flanked Wrasse
Names in 1 more languages
- Japanese
- Kuroheri-itohikibera, Kuroheriitohikibera, クロヘリイトヒキベラ
Other scientific names: Cheilinoides cyanopleura, Cirrhilabrus cyanopleurus, Cirrhilabrus heterodon, Cirrilabrus cyanopleurus
Similar species
Exquisite wrasseCirrhilabrus exquisitus
Black-finned WrasseCirrhilabrus punctatus
Scott's Fairy-wrasseCirrhilabrus scottorum
Peacock WrasseCirrhilabrus temminckii
Latigo Fairy WrasseCirrhilabrus briangreenei
Lubbock's WrasseCirrhilabrus lubbocki
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).
- 379 open-data records from 1931 to 2016.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
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