Coral reef systems are highly vulnerable to anthropogenic climate change influencing sediment dynamics between islands and the surrounding reef. This study focuses on coral rubble mobilization of rubble sheet deposits on an intertidal platform in the Maldives. Rubble clasts display an overall migration and fining in a lagoonward direction, potentially contributing to island formation. To further understand mobilization patterns, a rubble tracer experiment was conducted using 180 rubble clasts of different sizes and shapes released at two locations Ocean and Lagoon. Their movements were tracked over 30 days under varying hydrodynamic conditions. Rubble clast size, shape and releasing location influenced displacement and mobility. The proportion of rubble mobilized during the experiment varied between 60–100% dependent on size and location. Small and medium rubble present higher median displacement and mobility rates than large clasts at both releasing locations with a significantly greater difference at the Ocean site (p = 0.03). Branching and massive clasts show distinctively higher displacement than tabular ones, especially for small clasts at both locations (p = 0.03 and p = 0.01) and medium at the Lagoon site (p = 0.01). These findings highlight the important interaction between rubble clast attributes and their role in mobilization.