Spectacular, cave-dwelling fish of the temperate coast: the eastern blue devil in NSW ledges and the southern blue devil under South Australian jetties.
Paraplesiops bleekeri and P. meleagris
Two of the most beautiful fish on the temperate coast. The eastern blue devil, striped blue and white with trailing fins, lives in caves and under ledges from southern Queensland to Montague Island and is protected in NSW; it is shy and best photographed with patience at Sydney's North Head and Botany Bay sites and at Jervis Bay. The southern blue devil, a deeper blue covered in white spots, is the jewel of the South Australian jetties (Edithburgh, Rapid Bay, Port Hughes) and Victoria's Port Phillip Heads, where individuals hold the same cave for decades.
Ordered by how regularly the site is dived and how well it is documented. The species is listed in each site's recorded marine life; sightings are never guaranteed.
North Head and Bare Island (Sydney); Jervis Bay; Bass Point; Edithburgh, Rapid Bay and the Yorke Peninsula jetties; Port Phillip Heads.
Year-round.
Look into caves and under ledges in 10–25 m. Wait outside; they emerge if you stay still.