Blue-eyed triplefin

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Blue-eyed triplefin (Notoclinops segmentatus) is a small fish found around the North Island of New Zealand. It lives from about 1 to 30 meters deep, mainly in reefs made of broken rock. It grows to 3–6 cm long and is easy to recognize by its bright blue iridescent eyes. The body has nine red vertical bars and an orange tint on the back and head. In winter, the orange color on males becomes brighter on the head, tail, and anal fin, while the rest of the body turns blue/black. Males make nests in small depressions on vertical rock faces at about 10–20 meters deep and guard the eggs; females lay their eggs in these nests. The fish eat small crustaceans such as amphipods and copepods, and they have been seen removing parasites from larger fish. Conservation status: Least Concern.