Males can grow quite large and bulky, are blue to green with blue bars on the rear body, yellow and green markings on the head that gradually change into spots. Females are white with red/orange anal and dorsal fins and on the tail base. Black spots on the rear body and yellowish head with green markings. Juveniles are bright orange with several white blotches with black edging, the white blotch behind the head runs all the way from the dorsal to the pectoral fin. They live solitary.

Least concern according to the IUCN Red list. The species is quite common in the Western Indian Ocean range and although it is occasionally used in the aquarium trade, that doesn’t seem to appear a threat to the global population.

They can be found from the Southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Oman to Sri Lanka and Southern Africa. They prefer sand and rubble bottoms near coral rich reefs, in a depth range of 2-50 meters.

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