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SpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It AgainOceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - OceanographicRiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at allOceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild PopulationsSpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for ConservationOceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray AreaSpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow ReductionsFisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-NicolaIndiaHilsa production dropped 26% in five years, fisheries minister tells parliamentSpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It AgainOceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - OceanographicRiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at allOceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild PopulationsSpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for ConservationOceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray AreaSpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow ReductionsFisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-NicolaIndiaHilsa production dropped 26% in five years, fisheries minister tells parliament
EveryFish

Reef fish

Clownfish, wrasses, parrotfish, surgeonfish, angelfish and butterflyfish. 56 fish on EveryFish so far.

Reef fish is not a scientific group but a way of life: the many families of fish that live on and around coral reefs. Damselfish and clownfish, wrasses, parrotfish, surgeonfish, butterflyfish, angelfish, gobies, groupers and snappers make up most of them. Reefs cover far less than one per cent of the sea floor but hold roughly a quarter of all marine fish species, packed together in a small space.

Living together

Reef fish divide the reef finely. Parrotfish and surgeonfish graze algae and keep it from smothering corals. Butterflyfish pick at coral polyps. Cleaner wrasses run cleaning stations where bigger fish come to have parasites removed. Clownfish shelter among stinging anemones, and many reef fish change sex during their lives. Bright colours serve as signals, warnings and camouflage among the bright corals. Most reef fish lay eggs that drift as larvae for weeks before settling on a reef.

Trade and threats

Reef fish feed millions of people in coastal villages of the tropics. The aquarium trade takes many species from the wild, and the film Finding Nemo in 2003 raised demand for clownfish, though most clownfish sold are now bred in captivity. Groupers and humphead wrasse are taken for the live reef fish trade of East Asia. Bleaching from marine heatwaves, overfishing, blast and cyanide fishing, and pollution are the main threats.

Famous reef fish fish

Orange clownfishLives in anemones on Pacific reefsHumphead wrasseA giant reef fish, endangeredGreen humphead parrotfishThe largest parrotfishMoorish idolA striking fish of Indo-Pacific reefsMandarinfishThe mandarinfishBluestreak cleaner wrasseRuns cleaning stationsRegal blue tangThe blue tang

Still to be written: Ocellaris clownfish.

Further reading

WaterRivers and lakesEstuaries and mangrovesCoasts and shelvesCoral reefsOpen oceanDeep seaPolar and cold seasCaves and springsBetween sea and river
UseFood fishFarmedAquarium fishSport fishingCulture and faithVenomous or dangerousInvasiveScience and research
OrderBest knownA to ZOldest firstNewest firstBy size
WorldRegal blue tang Bright blue reef fish with a yellow tail and black markings.Reef fish · Coral reefs East AsiaTomato clownfish A bright orange-red marine fish from the Western Pacific.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves WorldSix-line wrasse Small violet reef fish with six orange stripesReef fish · Coasts and shelves · 1857 OceaniaAchilles tang A black reef fish with an orange tail spot.Reef fish · Coral reefs · 1803 🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreFrench angelfish A slow-growing Caribbean reef fish known for its sponge diet.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves · 1799 WorldGreen chromis Small iridescent reef damselfish found across the Indo-Pacific.Reef fish · Coral reefs 🇺🇸 United StatesGaribaldi Bright orange damselfish and official marine state fish of California.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves · 1860 WorldBluespotted cornetfish Long, slender reef fish with a tubular snout and blue spots.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves WorldClark's anemonefish A widely distributed marine clownfish with variable colour patterns.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves WorldYellow boxfish A bright yellow, cube-shaped reef fish with toxic mucus.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves · 1758 WorldLonghorn cowfish Box-shaped reef fish with long head hornsReef fish · Coasts and shelves · 1758 OceaniaPink skunk clownfish Small reef fish with a white dorsal stripe and algae diet.Reef fish · Coral reefs · 1855 WorldSea goldie A colourful reef fish that changes sex.Perch-like · Coasts and shelves WorldThreadfin butterflyfish A tropical marine fish with a trailing dorsal filament.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves North AmericaFoureye butterflyfish Atlantic reef fish with false eyespots for defenceReef fish · Coasts and shelves WorldYellow longnose butterflyfish A bright yellow reef fish with a long snout.Reef fish · Coral reefs · 1898 WorldRaccoon butterflyfish A striped marine fish with a distinctive facial mask.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves · 1802 WorldCopperband butterflyfish A long-snouted reef fish with yellow stripesReef fish · Coasts and shelves 🇲🇾 Malaysia and 4 moreHumphead wrasse The largest reef-dwelling wrasse, known for its forehead hump and endangered status.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves · 1801 WorldBird wrasse A long-snouted Indo-Pacific reef fish that changes sex.Reef fish · Coral reefs OceaniaOrange clownfish Bright orange reef fish with three white barsReef fish · Coral reefs 🇮🇩 IndonesiaBanggai cardinalfish A small, endangered marine fish from Indonesia known for its unique breeding habits and popularity in the aquarium tradeReef fish · Coasts and shelves WorldRoyal gramma Small violet and yellow reef fish from the western Atlantic.Reef fish · Coral reefs WorldFire goby A colourful reef dartfish with a yellow head and red tail.Reef fish · Coral reefs 🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreYellow tang Bright yellow Pacific reef fish kept in marine aquariums.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves · 1828 🇺🇸 United StatesReef triggerfish Hawaii’s official state fish with a pig-like snoutReef fish · Coral reefs WorldPowder blue tang A bright blue reef fish from the Indian Ocean.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves · 1833 WorldConvict tang Striped marine surgeonfish found across the Indo-Pacific.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves · 1758 WorldMoorish idol A striking black, white and yellow reef fish found across the Indo-Pacific.Reef fish · Coral reefs · 1758 WorldButterflyfish A global family of colourful tropical reef fish known for their bright patterns and coral diets.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves · 1815 WorldSurgeonfish Marine fish family with sharp tail spines and algae diets.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves WorldClownfish Small reef fish living in sea anemones.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves · 1801 WorldWrasse A large family of colourful marine fish known for sex change and cleaning symbiosis.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves WorldDamselfish Small marine fish known for aggressive territorial behaviour and reef farming.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves WorldTriggerfish Armoured reef fish with a locking dorsal spineReef fish · Coasts and shelves · 1810 WorldCardinalfishes Small, colourful reef fish known for male mouthbrooding.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves WorldWhitetail dascyllus A small Indo-Pacific reef fish with bold black and white stripes.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves WorldThreespot dascyllus A small black and white reef fish with three distinct spots.Reef fish · Coral reefs WorldTrumpetfish Marine fish with a long tubular snout found in tropical reefs worldwide.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves · 1766 Yellowhead jawfish WorldYellowhead jawfish Small Caribbean reef fish that builds burrows and broods eggs in its mouth.Reef fish · Coral reefs 🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreRed lionfish Venomous coral reef fish native to the Indo-Pacific and invasive in the Atlantic.Reef fish · Coral reefs · 1758 WorldRoyal angelfish A striped marine angelfish from Indo-Pacific reefs.Reef fish · Coral reefs · 1772 WorldEmperor angelfish A striking reef fish with bold blue and yellow stripes.Reef fish · Coral reefs · 1787 WorldClown unicornfish A reef-dwelling surgeonfish with orange tail spines and a black face mask.Reef fish · Coral reefs · 1801 WorldQueen angelfish A colourful reef fish with a blue crown spot.Reef fish · Coasts and shelves · 1758 OceaniaFlame angelfish Bright orange-red marine angelfish from Pacific reefsReef fish · Coral reefs

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly digest

Every Monday: the fish of the day, new pages on EveryFish, and the conferences and anniversaries of the week ahead.