Difficult to distinguish from the bluestriped goatfish. The bluespotted goatfish has a slightly longer snout than the bluestriped goatfish and a dark stripe along the side in living animals. However, this stripe cannot be clearly seen on animals during their red colour phase. Juvenile fish form small schools in sheltered bays, while adults are more commonly found on their own near the edge of reefs.

• Max Size: 35 cm
• Sea Temperature Range: 11.6-23.0°C
• Depth: 2-40 m
• Habitat: Rocky Reef, Soft sediment
• Habitat Generalisation Index: 16.8
  Also referred to as the SGI (Species generalisation index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here

• IUCN Threat Status: Not Evaluated
• Occurrence: Common (41% of sites)
  Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
• Abundance: Few (3 per transect)
  Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.