Heteroclinus whiteleggii
A 7cm weed-dwelling blenny logged uncommonly across New South Wales dive sites in waters from 16.5 to 27.6°C. Here's how to find it.
A slender little fish topping out around 7cm, built low and long like most weedfishes, with mottled brown and cream banding that breaks up its outline against algae and weed. It rests on or clings among fronds rather than swimming in open water, so divers usually spot it by its shape first and colour second. Look for a blunt head and a single long dorsal fin running most of the body length, a classic clinid (weedfish family) profile.
Divers find this one sitting still among weed and algae rather than swimming about, relying on its mottled banding to disappear against the fronds. It is not shy so much as simply hard to notice, and most sightings likely come from divers moving slowly and scanning weedy patches on rock reef rather than open sand or coral. Logged as uncommon to rare at its sites, so patience and close-focus attention pay off more than covering ground.
Weedfishes in the family Clinidae are masters of blending into algae rather than fleeing from it, which is why this species is so easy to swim straight past despite being logged at multiple sites.
There's no clear seasonal pattern in the sightings data, and the observed temperature range of 16.5 to 27.6°C spans NSW's winter lows through summer highs, so it appears to be present year-round. Plan around good visibility and calm conditions rather than a particular month.
Reef neighbours a diver could mistake it for. Use the identification notes above to tell them apart.
Every logged sighting so far comes from Australia, concentrated in New South Wales, which is the only real place to plan a search for this one. Within NSW it turns up scattered across a handful of sites rather than clustering at one location, so it rewards divers who search weed and algae patches on any temperate reef in the region.
Mapping where Banded Weedfish is logged…
All confirmed sightings are from New South Wales, Australia, spread across a handful of temperate reef sites rather than one hotspot. It is currently not documented diving elsewhere.
There is no strong seasonal signal in the sighting data, and the species turns up across a wide temperature range from 16.5 to 27.6°C, suggesting it can be found year-round in New South Wales waters.
Look for a small, slender fish around 7cm long with mottled brown and cream banding, resting motionless among weed or algae on rocky reef. Its long dorsal fin and blunt head give it the typical weedfish silhouette rather than a free-swimming blenny shape.
They stay small, typically around 7cm long, which combined with their camouflage makes them easy to overlook on a dive.
No, it poses no danger to divers. It is a small, harmless reef fish that relies entirely on camouflage rather than defence.
Like other clinids, it depends on staying still and blending into weed rather than swimming away from threats, which makes spotting one feel more like a game of hide and seek than typical fish-watching.
Site and sighting data is aggregated from diver logs, iNaturalist and GBIF. For taxonomy and conservation status:
Klipfish
1,860 sites
