Blue devil fish 2021 large
Blue devil fish 2021 large

Where to dive in South Australia to see blue devil fish

23 Mar. 2021 2 min read

Spot this supermodel of the sea on your next diving trip in South Australia’s Encounter Marine Park.

South Australia’s reefs are top spots to dive, and you can easily stumble upon our supermodel of a fish.

It’s blue, has personalised markings, can live up to 60 years and is popular with underwater photographers.

We’re talking about the striking southern blue devil fish.

Where to dive in South Australia to see blue devil fish
(Image courtesy of Simon Bryars)

It’s better the blue devil you know

Southern blue devils live around reefs and are common to SA’s waters, but can be found along Australia’s coast from southern Victoria through to Western Australia.

The fish like to stay close to home, which is usually a cave dwelling that’s more than 5 metres deep.

Spot the blue devil

During routine marine monitoring, our marine scientists became intrigued with the ease of telling blue devil fish apart by their iridescent spots. So they decided to give them celebrity names.

Where to dive in South Australia to see blue devil fish
(Image courtesy of Simon Bryars)

One blue devil fish couple were named after Rolling Stones rocker Mick Jagger and his former supermodel wife Jerry Hall. Mick and Jerry mated and Jerry laid a mass of sticky eggs on the roof of a cave nestled in the reef. Mick guarded the eggs until they hatched as tiny larvae only a few weeks later – that’s Jumpin' Jack Flash quick!

Where to dive in South Australia to see blue devil fish
(Image courtesy of Simon Bryars)

Dive with the devil in SA

You can spot the southern blue devil fish by diving at Encounter Marine Park’s Aldinga Reef and Second Valley, or Seacliff Reef.

Grab your scuba gear and get ready to fill your camera with lots of southern blue devil shots. This reef fish is slow moving, inquisitive and easy to approach, making it a fantastic supermodel – some even say better than Jerry Hall.

Feeling inspired to head out to your nearest marine park to uncover South Australia’s sea world? Here’s some of the other marine life you might see: cuttlefish, reef fish, octopuses and cute baby marine animals.

This story was originally posted in March 2017.

(Main image courtesy of Australian Museum)

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