Forster's Weedfish
Heteroclinus tristis
- Usual depth3–10 m
- Water temperature14–20 °C
- Best monthsFebruary, March, and April
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Christopher Mark, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Heteroclinus tristis, the sharp-nose weedfish, is a species of clinid native to the coastal waters of southern Australia where it prefers sandy reefs with sparse vegetation. This species can reach a maximum length of 30 centimetres (12 in) TL. This species feed primarily fishes, shrimp and prawns.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Heteroclinus tristis”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
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Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 23 records
- February: 34 records
- March: 38 records
- April: 32 records
- May: 19 records
- June: 15 records
- July: 12 records
- August: 11 records
- September: 4 records
- October: 15 records
- November: 8 records
- December: 16 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 3–10 m · Deepest record: 11 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 14–20 °C
Photos
(c) Christopher Mark, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Lawrence Hylton, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Forster's Weedfish, Longnose Weedfish, Sharp-nose Weedfish
Other scientific names: Axoclinus amaenus, Cristiceps amaenus, Cristiceps tristis
Similar species
Common WeedfishHeteroclinus perspicillatus
Common WeedfishHeteroclinus heptaeolus
Johnston's WeedfishHeteroclinus johnstoni
Kuiters WeedfishHeteroclinus kuiteri
Rosy weedfishHeteroclinus roseus
Whitelegg's WeedfishHeteroclinus whiteleggii
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).
- 268 open-data records from 1893 to 2023.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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