peacock wrasse
Iniistius pavo
Reef and sand fish of the Indo-Pacific and the eastern Pacific, with a dark bar below the eye. It has white flesh, is caught on line, and also goes to aquariums.
Also called: bodião-navalha-pavão, cuchillo pavo real, vieja pavo, peacock razorfish
- maximum
- 42 cm
- depth
- 1–100 m
who is the peacock wrasse
The peacock razorfish is of the family Labridae, the wrasses. It reaches 42 cm and lives in the Indo-Pacific and the eastern Pacific, from the Gulf of California to Panama and the Galápagos. It occurs in lagoons and seaward reefs, over fine to coarse sand, from 1 to 100 m deep. It usually lives alone and at night buries itself in the sand to sleep or hide. It feeds on hard-shelled animals, such as mollusks and crustaceans. It is taken in sport fishing and the aquarium trade.
Essential profile. Identification, where it occurs and rules, with data from FishBase and the cited regulations. Season, time of day, technique and bait are added once we have a good source for the peacock wrasse.
fun facts
- Juveniles mimic dead leaves carried by the current, holding the elongated part of the dorsal fin above the head.
identification
Recognized by the vertical dark bar just below the eye. Adults usually have five dark bars on the body, and the female's belly turns red. Juveniles have a black anal fin and two large ocelli, with white borders, on the dorsal fin. The front part of the dorsal fin forms a separate fin, which in juveniles stretches out like a ribbon and shortens with age.
Loading the next 7 days…
Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
Essential profile: the index uses a general fish model (weather, sun, moon and tide), without a season or time of day specific to this species.
where found
Found in the Indo-Pacific and the eastern Pacific, from the Gulf of California to Panama and the Galápagos.
Habitat: Lagoons and seaward reefs, over fine to coarse sand.
when to fish
best time of day
Daytime. At night it buries itself in the sand to sleep safely, so it is active during the day.
rules for the peacock wrasse
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.
catch and release
catch and release Releasing the fish alive, quickly and with a wet hand. During a closed season it isn't always allowed: what the regulation says applies.
No danger to anglers. If released, return it to the water carefully.
in the kitchen
Good to eat, with very white flesh.
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.01072, b = 3.09; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa da própria espécie)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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sources and references
Essential profile: size, length-weight, depth, countries and conservation come from FishBase and the cited regulations, and the texts were written from those sources. Season, time of day, sensitivities, technique and baits and lures are not included yet, because we did not find a good source for this species.
- scientific FishBase: Iniistius pavo (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
- scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Iniistius pavoNames by country and language.