The story of Dory

Finding Dory in the Maldives is not that simple as these beautiful Blue Tang Surgeonfish are actually quite rare around the island’s reefs. Often snorkellers and ‘Finding Nemo’ fans mistake the locally, more common Powder Blue Surgeonfish, which looks similar yet different, for the genuine Dory.

The Ocean Stories team at Milaidhoo was therefore very excited to meet a tiny baby Dory – a juvenile Blue Tang Surgeonfish – the other day right at the house reef. Exploring the anemones and roaming around with other juvenile fish, the small Blue Tang Surgeonfish looked quite at home on the Milaidhoo house reef.  The vibrant colours were really prominent and our snorkellers count themselves lucky to have found this tiny version of Dory.

Next time you visit the Milaidhoo House Reef look out for the following differences to be sure you have really found Dory:

1. Dory, the Blue Tang Surgeonfish

The vibrant royal blue and bright yellow colours of the Blue Tang Surgeonfish are easy to spot. The most remarkable difference to the Powder Blue Surgeonfish is the yellow tail and black stripe under the dorsal fin. The vibrance of the colouring may vary throughout the lifecycle and look a bit pale when the fish are spawning.

Even though Dory seems like an adorable and kind character, do not try to catch one of them in the wild. They have very sharp spines on the sides of their tale. When in danger they may make use of these to defend themselves.

2. Powder Blue Surgeonfish

The bright yellow dorsal fin is the most remarkable characteristic of Dory’s relative, the Powder Blue Surgeonfish. The head is black with some white elements, as opposed to the Blue Tang Surgeonfish, which has a blue face.

We hope this helps you to write your own story of finding Dory, and should you have any more questions, our Ocean Stories team will always be happy to share more details and information with you.