Reef Fish Identification Chart: 24 Species with Pictures

Reef fish identification chart with pictures

Species are ordered roughly by family: clownfish and damsels, tangs and surgeonfish, angelfish and butterflyfish, wrasses and parrotfish, triggerfish and puffers, then reef groupers, grunts and snappers. Indo-Pacific and Caribbean reefs share almost no species, so the Distribution column is often the fastest tie-breaker. Open-water and inshore species are on the saltwater fish identification chart.

Photo	Species	Size Range	Key ID Traits	Distribution
	Clownfish Amphiprioninae	7–15 cm	Orange with white bars edged in black; lives in anemones	Indo-Pacific
	Blue Tang Acanthurus coeruleus	20–30 cm	Bright blue; yellow spine at tail base; juveniles are yellow	Atlantic / Caribbean
	Moorish Idol Zanclus cornutus	15–20 cm	Black, white & yellow bands; extremely long dorsal filament	Indo-Pacific, Hawaii
	Lionfish Pterois volitans	25–38 cm	Red-white stripes; feathery pectoral fins; venomous spines	Indo-Pacific (invasive Atlantic)
	Parrotfish Scarus spp.	30–120 cm	Beak-like fused teeth; vivid blues, greens, pinks	Tropical worldwide
	Queen Angelfish Holacanthus ciliaris	30–45 cm	Electric blue-yellow; blue crown spot on forehead	Caribbean
	Titan Triggerfish Balistoides viridescens	50–75 cm	Mottled brown-green; large; will defend nest aggressively	Indo-Pacific
	Napoleon Wrasse Cheilinus undulatus	60–230 cm	Distinctive forehead hump in adults; blue-green; endangered	Indo-Pacific
	Spotted Pufferfish Arothron meleagris	30–50 cm	Dark brown covered in white spots; inflates when threatened	Indo-Pacific
	Copperband Butterflyfish Chelmon rostratus	15–20 cm	White with copper vertical bands; long pointed snout	Indo-Pacific
	Harlequin Tuskfish Choerodon fasciatus	20–30 cm	Vivid blue, orange, and black banding; protruding blue tusk-like canines	W. Pacific, GBR
	Yellow Tang Zebrasoma flavescens	10–20 cm	Solid lemon-yellow oval body; white scalpel spine at the tail base; tall dorsal and anal fins	Hawaii and Central Pacific
	Sergeant Major Abudefduf saxatilis	10–20 cm	Silver-yellow with five bold black vertical bars; deep oval body; forked tail	Atlantic and Caribbean reefs; Indo-Pacific look-alike is A. vaigiensis
	Blue-green Chromis Chromis viridis	5–8 cm	Small, uniform pale blue-green; forked tail; hovers in dense schools over branching coral	Indo-Pacific lagoons
	Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse Labroides dimidiatus	8–12 cm	Slender; black stripe widening toward the tail on a blue-white body; runs cleaning stations	Indo-Pacific reefs
	Emperor Angelfish Pomacanthus imperator	30–40 cm	Adults: yellow and blue diagonal stripes with a black eye mask; juveniles: dark blue with white concentric rings	Indo-Pacific and Red Sea
	Picasso Triggerfish Rhinecanthus aculeatus	20–30 cm	Angular body; blue and black bands over the eye; black belly patch; yellow lip stripe	Indo-Pacific; Hawaii's humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa
	Mandarinfish Synchiropus splendidus	5–7 cm	Tiny; psychedelic orange and blue wavy stripes; broad fan-like pelvic fins; no scales	W. Pacific lagoons, rubble at dusk
	Nassau Grouper Epinephelus striatus	40–90 cm	Five dark bars on a tan body; black saddle on the tail base; dark tuning-fork mark on the forehead	Caribbean and W. Atlantic; endangered
	French Grunt Haemulon flavolineatum	15–30 cm	Yellow diagonal stripes on a silver-white body below the lateral line; yellow fins; schools under ledges by day	Caribbean and W. Atlantic
	Powder Blue Tang Acanthurus leucosternon	15–23 cm	Powder-blue body, black face, yellow dorsal fin, white chest and pectoral base	Indian Ocean reefs
	Raccoon Butterflyfish Chaetodon lunula	15–20 cm	Yellow-orange with a black "raccoon mask" across the eyes and a white band behind it; diagonal dark lines on the flank	Indo-Pacific
	Bluehead Wrasse Thalassoma bifasciatum	8–15 cm	Terminal males: blue head, two black bars, green body; juveniles and females: yellow with a dark side stripe	Caribbean and W. Atlantic
	Yellowtail Snapper Ocyurus chrysurus	30–50 cm	Bright yellow stripe from snout to a deeply forked yellow tail; silver-blue body above the stripe	Caribbean and W. Atlantic; hovers above the reef

Species photos are CC-licensed or public-domain images from Wikimedia Commons; see the full image credits for each file and its licence. All habitats are combined on the master fish identification chart.

Reef fish identification by family

Reef fish identification at depth

• Red disappears first. Below about 10 m a red fish looks grey or brown. Carry a light or shoot with a strobe to restore true colour.
• Yellow and blue survive longest. Tangs, angelfish and chromis are the easiest families to name without a light.
• Silhouette before colour. Disc = butterflyfish or angelfish; oval with a tail-base spine = tang; angular with a locking dorsal = triggerfish; cigar-shaped swimming with pectoral fins = wrasse.
• Behaviour is a trait. Cleaning stations mean cleaner wrasse; hovering schools over branching coral mean chromis; a fish defending a patch of algae is a damselfish.

Reef regions and their signature species

Reef fish identification FAQ

Angelfish or butterflyfish?

Check the cheek. Angelfish carry a strong backward-pointing spine on the preopercle (the bone in front of the gill cover); butterflyfish do not. Butterflyfish are also smaller and thinner-bodied with a more pointed snout.

Why do reef fish look grey or brown at depth?

Water absorbs red light first, so below about 10 metres red and orange fish look grey or brown. Identify by silhouette and fin shape at depth and confirm colour with a dive light or a photo taken with a strobe.

Are juvenile reef fish on this chart?

Only where the juvenile is the form most people meet. Many reef species change completely with age — a blue tang starts yellow and an emperor angelfish juvenile wears white rings — so a juvenile that matches nothing is worth uploading to the identifier.

What if my fish is not on this chart?

Upload a clear photo to the AI fish identifier. It covers 866 species including most common Indo-Pacific and Caribbean reef fish and returns the top matches with a confidence score.