Divefree

Fish

Sailfin Rubberlip

Diagramma pictum

A rubberlip that starts life as a gaudy, stripy weed-dweller and matures into a plain grey giant near a metre long.

Also known as seilvin- rubberlip

Sailfin Rubberlip
Photo: Mark Rosenstein · CC BY-NC 4.0
Typical size
Attains about 1 m
Habitat
Around coral reefs

The sailfin rubberlip changes dramatically with age. Colourful juveniles are often found among weed, but as the fish grows the stripes and colour fade: medium fish turn grey with spots, and big adults become a uniform greyish. It reaches about a metre.

Adults live around coral, either solitary or in small schools, while the young stay in cover. It occurs from the Indo-West Pacific south to southern Natal, and has been reported ciguatoxic in some regions, so treat large fish from tropical reefs with caution.