Blue Devil Fish

Paraplesiops bleekeri

Blue Devil fish live in exposed reef from 3-30m deep. They range from Montague Island NSW to the gold Coast in QLD. They range in length and can grow to a maximum of 40cms. They are easily identified by the banded pattern of blue and white strips on their body and yellow pectoral fins. The pelvic fins, posterior dorsal and anal fins are all elongated. When the blue devil fish spreads these fins they overlap and it makes the fish look bigger than it really is. Blue Devil fish are solitary creatures that usually live alone in caves or crevices during the day; it can sometimes be seen out roaming the reef at night. Usually they appear shy to divers, as they do not swim away fleeing when discovered, but tend to move to the very back of a cave or crevice to remain out of site.

The main reason you usually only ever find one Blue Devil Fish in a cave or under a ledge is that, according to Mike Scotland’s article in May/June Scuba Diver Magazine, the male sets up his own territory in a cave or overhang in order to attract a mate. If there is more than one male around, one will drive the other away. Blue Devil Fish mate in spring. The eggs are glued to the roof of the cave until they hatch.

The Blue Devil Fish is now fully protected in NSW.

We offer regular PADI learn to dive Courses Our PADI open water dive lessons offer you the safety and comfort of small classes and top quality gear. We have four new courses starting every week, with four day -six ocean dive program and also three day accelerated  course.