Chromis nitida
Small blue-grey damselfish common on Queensland reefs, comfortable in 23-28C water and logged year-round across the Great Barrier Reef.
A small, slender damselfish around 5 cm, pale grey-blue overall with a faintly darker back and a forked tail that often shows a thin dark edge. Look for the compressed, oval body shape typical of chromis and the way it hovers in loose, slow-moving groups just off the reef rather than darting into cover. It lacks bold stripes or bright patches, which itself is a useful cue against more strikingly marked damselfish.
Typically seen hovering in small, loose groups a short distance above the reef structure, picking at plankton drifting past rather than feeding directly off the substrate. Divers report it as unbothered by slow, steady approaches, holding position rather than bolting for cover the way more skittish damselfish do. Most sightings sit in the shallow to mid-depth zone of the reef rather than down near the sand.
As an omnivorous reef damselfish, it fills a small but steady role picking zooplankton from the water column, helping cycle nutrients across the reef it calls home.
Sighting data doesn't show a clear seasonal pattern, and its comfort range of roughly 23 to 28C spans Queensland's reef temperatures most of the year, so it's a reasonable year-round sighting.
Reef neighbours a diver could mistake it for. Use the identification notes above to tell them apart.
Strongly tied to Australia's east coast, with Queensland the most reliable place to find it, especially around Great Barrier Reef sites, and a smaller but real presence further south in New South Wales. Most logs describe it as uncommon to common rather than abundant, so expect to spot a handful rather than dense swarms.
Mapping where Barrier Reef Chromis is logged…
Queensland is the most reliable place, with strong logs across Great Barrier Reef sites, and it also turns up further south along the New South Wales coast.
There's no strong seasonal signal in the data, and its 23 to 28C comfort range covers Queensland reef conditions most of the year, so it's seen across all seasons.
Look for a small, plain pale blue-grey damselfish around 5 cm long, hovering in loose groups just above the reef with no bold stripes or bright colour patches.
They stay small, reaching around 5 cm, which is typical for chromis damselfish on Indo-Pacific reefs.
No, they pose no risk to divers and are usually indifferent to a calm, slow approach.
Site and sighting data is aggregated from diver logs, iNaturalist and GBIF. For taxonomy and conservation status:
Yellowtail Clownfish
3,523 sites
