The heavyweight of the boulder reef. It has a deep chunky body, a large blunt head and thick fleshy lips. These are used to suck small invertebrates off the rocks. The colour is rich reddish-brown to olive-green. Irregular darker blotches often mark the skin. Large rounded fins and a broad powerful tail complete the look. A fish built like a tank and painted like a rock. It is a benthic grazer with a slow methodical lifestyle. Red moki spend their days cruising the reef. They pick at small crustaceans, worms and molluscs. They suck them off the rocks with those fleshy lips. They are not fast swimmers. But they are strong and stubborn. They use body weight to wedge themselves into cracks when threatened. The reef is its fortress. The cracks are its shelter. It is a favourite target for spearfishers because it is curious and approachable. A big moki will often swim right up to a diver. It checks them out with those big dark eyes. That curiosity gets them into trouble. A fish that approaches a human is a fish that gets shot. The Maori name is not separately recorded for this species. Moki covers several. The people who came before knew this fish. They speared it. They ate it. They told stories about the big one that got away. To catch a red moki is to catch the curious giant. It is the fish that comes to see what is there. Then it stays just a little too long. It gives the shot that has been waiting for. It is the fish of the boulder reef. You find it in the deep cracks. It watches from the shadows. It is a big curious delicious resident of the rocky coast. That is the red moki. Heavyweight of the boulder reef. Curious to a fault. Excellent eating. A fish that pays for its curiosity with its life.