HomeMarine aquarium fishWrassesRed shoulder wrasse Red shoulder wrasse (Stethojulis bandanensis) Scientific name: Stethojulis bandanensis Bleeker, 1851 The Red shoulder wrasse (Stethojulis bandanensis) is a marine fish of the family Labridae. BiologyDorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11-12; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 11. 1st spine of the anal fin is minute or imbedded.Terminal males typically have a series of partial to complete longitudinal thin blue lines on their sides. Females mainly bluish grey with fine white spotting over upper sides and a small red spot at axil of pectoral fin.Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0. Species factsScientific nameStethojulis bandanensisFamilyLabridae (Wrasses)OrderPerciformes (Perch-like fish)ClassActinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)Maximum length15.0Depth range3–30 m (10–98 ft)EnvironmentMarine; reef-associated; depth range 3 - 30 mClimateTropicalDistributionIndo-Pacific: eastern Indian Ocean to western Australia, including the Christmas Island, Cocos-Keeling and the Andaman Sea; then from Japan to New South Wales, Australia. Eastern Pacific: offshore islands in the eastern Pacific, including Clipperton, Cocos and the Galapagos islands. Range extends to Baja California during El Ni?o (Victor, pers. comm.). Replaced by Stethojulis albovittata in the western Indian Ocean and Stethojulis balteata in the Hawaiian Islands.Conservation status (IUCN)Least Concern (LC)Threat to humansHarmlessUsesFisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercialResilienceHigh, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.) More wrassesThree-ribbon wrasseStethojulis strigiventerRedspot wrassePseudocoris yamashiroiPastel ringwrasseHologymnosus doliatusBluntheaded wrasseThalassoma amblycephalumSixbar wrasseThalassoma hardwickeRing wrasseHologymnosus annulatusSee all wrasses SourcesTaxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.Last updated 27 September 2026