The harmful algal bloom in South Australia has devastated marine communities across a large range of species groups. Some groups such as elasmobranchs and sessile invertebrates have suffered the greatest impacts and been well documented in the media from citizen observations, while the impacts on other groups such as site attached reef fish are less clear. As part of South Australia’s Department for Environment and Water’s HAB impact assessment on nearshore marine biodiversity project an analysis of long-term data collected using Baited Remote Underwater Video Surveys and the Reef Life Survey method by divers has revealed differential impacts across these communities based on life history. Demersal invertivores from the Syngnathiformes such as goat fish (Upeneichthys vlamingii) have been severely impacted compared to more mesopelagic herbivores such as members of the Labridae (wrasses). Understanding the degree of impact across different species groups will be critical to understanding long term outcomes for reef ecosystems and potential recovery trajectories.