Bluelined rabbitfish
Siganus doliatus
Illustration: Bloom by Day
A pale rabbitfish crossed by two brown bands — one through the eye, one behind the head — with vertical blue lines over the upper body and a yellow dorsal and tail. It grazes algae in pairs over shallow coral, and its dorsal, anal and pelvic spines are venomous: look, do not handle.
how to recognise it
- two diagonal brown bands: one from the nape through the eye to the chin, the second from the base of the 4th-5th dorsal spines to just below the pectoral fin
- fine blue lines on the head, and obvious vertical blue lines over the upper two-thirds of the sides
- horizontal blue lines on the tail base
- yellow dorsal and tail fins
- VENOMOUS SPINES in the dorsal, anal and pelvic fins
Field marks read from Fishes of Australia, 2026-10-16. Our wording, their facts. Max size 25 cm TL.
facts
- habitat
- reef
- size
- ~20 cm, to 25 cm
Max size from Fishes of Australia (25 cm TL); the typical size is Bluebird’s, not from a cited source
- records
- 4558 at 8 spot(s), none of
them in this region
Recorded at Cod Hole (Ribbon Reefs GBR), Low Isles (Port Douglas), Green Island (Cairns), Fitzroy Island (Cairns), Hayman Island — Blue Pearl Bay, Hook Island — Manta Ray Bay, Erskine Island, Montebello Islands (WA). A count of occurrence records, not abundance. Records are where someone looked.
when it has been recorded
JFMAMJJASOND
A gap means no record in the sample, not absence.
the rule
no QLD rule listed — check before you dive
no NSW rule listed — check before you dive
no closed season recorded for this species — that is not the same as open; check the official page
Rules checked 2026-10-13 against qld.gov.au
Rules change. Check before you dive.
Occurrence data: Atlas of Living Australia (ala.org.au), CC-BY 4.0.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.