Lemon damsel
Pomacentrus moluccensis
Illustration: Bloom by Day
A thumb-length fish of one solid bright yellow, fins and tail included, with a small blue ear spot and a black dot in the armpit. It lives in the water just above shallow coral patches and drops into the branches when a shadow passes over.
how to recognise it
- bright yellow all over — brighter than the Ambon damsel it is otherwise coloured like
- the fins and tail are OPAQUE yellow rather than semi-transparent
- a small blue ear spot
- a black spot in the armpit, at the base of the pectoral fin
- about 9 cm
Field marks read from Reef Life Survey, 2026-10-16. Our wording, their facts. Max size 9 cm.
facts
- habitat
- reef
- size
- ~7 cm, to 9 cm
Max size from Reef Life Survey (9 cm); the typical size is Bluebird’s, not from a cited source
- records
- 2209 at 13 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), Magnetic Island — Geoffrey Bay, Hardy Reef (Whitsundays), Bait Reef (Whitsundays), Hayman Island — Blue Pearl Bay, Hook Island — Manta Ray Bay, Great Keppel Island (East), Great Keppel Island (West), Erskine Island, Exmouth (Navy Pier 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.