Common hardyhead
Atherinomorus vaigiensis
Illustration: Bloom by Day
Tiny, near-transparent and marked with one bright silver band along the side, hanging in big loose clouds in shallow water. They part just enough to let you through and are the reason tailor and trevally come into the shallows.
how to recognise it
- a narrow silvery band down the middle of the side
- dark pectoral-fin tips
- a dark margin on the rear of the tail
- relatively deep-bodied for a baitfish, silvery bluish-green, to about 17 cm
don’t confuse with
- Australian anchovy — the anchovy's snout sticks out well beyond its mouth and its silver side band is BROAD
- Australian sardine — the sardine has a row of evenly spaced dark blue spots along the side
Field marks read from Fishes of Australia, 2026-10-15. Our wording, their facts. Max size 17 cm TL.
facts
- habitat
- pelagic
- size
- ~8 cm, to 17 cm
Max size from Fishes of Australia (17 cm TL); the typical size is Bluebird’s, not from a cited source
- records near here
- 13 at 4 of 6 spots
A count of occurrence records near these spots, 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
QLD — None · None
source
· verified 2026-10-10
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.