Some of our common local fish are interesting and attractive but may not be familiar to those who don’t have the opportunity to get into the water. Occasionally, these fish will be landed by fishers, but because of their size or unpalatable taste, they are returned to the water.

A fish family that is almost certain to be seen by snorkelers and divers in our waters are the damselfish. Members of this family are found just about everywhere in the world and because we have both tropical and temperate waters, Australia actually has a wider range of species than anywhere else. They are closely related to the anemone fish of tropical waters, made famous by the character Nemo.

Our damselfish are larger than their tropical cousins and are usually about the size of a small plate. Some species of damselfish forage around the rocks feeding on kelp plants and tiny animals, while others hover in schools in the water column, feeding on microscopic plankton. The most common bottom-dwelling damselfish in our waters is the White Ear (Parma microlepis), while the most common planktivorous damselfish is the One Spot Puller (Chromis hypsilepis). Damselfish have their preferred water temperature ranges and as we go further north and south we find different species, though still in the same family. If they are lucky damselfish will live to 30 years or more.

One of the endearing characteristics of some of the damselfish is their plucky defence of their home territories. They will show no hesitation in attacking much larger fish and usually succeed in driving the intruder away. They are most aggressive when they are breeding and will even tackle inquisitive snorkelers and divers. In the hundreds of dives I have done, the only creatures that have ever bitten me are damselfishes. Fortunately they only have tiny mouths, otherwise diving might be a more hazardous activity.

Adult damselfishes in our waters are usually fairly drab in colour, but juveniles look like tropical aquarium fish, with bright yellow bodies and luminescent blue spots or stripes. It is thought that this colouration may have evolved so that adults will not regard the juveniles as competitors in the breeding season and refrain from attacking them. You can often see small juveniles in rock pools.