Ballan Wrasse

Photo: leaston · CC BY-NC

Ballan wrasse are the most commonly encountered large fish on the Breda, their mottled green-brown colouration providing imperfect camouflage against the encrusted metalwork. They are curious fish that circle divers repeatedly and are known to follow bubbles upward toward the surface in apparent play. Wrasse are protogynous hermaphrodites — all begin as females and dominant individuals transition to male — and the large adults on the Breda are almost certainly males.