Maximum length: 42 cm

Depth: 1 - 30 m

Brown body with blue spots.

Inhabits coral-rich reefs with surf.

Burrows in the sand at night.

Rare and shy.

Hurghada Egypt

Maximum length: 22 cm

Depth: 1 - 60 metres

Can be seen in lagoons, bays and outer reefs.

Feeds on small fish and invertebrates.

Hurghada Egypt

 Maximum length: 18 cm

Depth: 0.5 - 30 m

Head and breast are yellow, rest of body with white spots, light-coloured tail.

Solitary fish that is most comfortable near the bottom.

Hurghada Egypt

 Maximum length: 1 m

Depth: 1 - 50 m

Olive green body with a slightly lighter coloured hind body.

The male has a frontal hump.

Eats hard-shelled invertebrates, which it cracks with its teeth.

They can be seen patrolling the edges of reefs.

Juveniles have a white body with 2 orange spots on the back,

2 black spots on the dorsal fin, small black spots on the head

and on the dorsal and anal fins and 2 black stripes on the caudal fin.

Hurghada Egypt

 Maximum length: 18 cm

Depth: 1 - 20 m

Short dark transverse bands on the upper half of the body.

Small sharp axial spot.

There is an eye spot in the centre of the dorsal fin.

Moalboal Philippines 

 Maximum length: 20 cm 

Depth: 2 - 25 m

The male is bluish green, the female reddish brown.

Mostly in lagoon reefs over mixed bottoms of rubble, stones, sand and coral.

Eats hard-shelled invertebrates.

Hurghada Egypt

Maximum length: 38 cm

Depth: 0.5 - 50 m

Adults are green-brown with green head and horizontal stripes.

They are usually found over sand and rubble near corals.

Juveniles on shallow, sandy areas.

Hurghada Egypt

 Maximum length: 50 cm

Depth: 2 - 30 m

Between algae and stones in coral reefs.

Hurghada Egypt

 Maximum length: 38 cm

Depth: 2 - 50 m

Adults: Yellow tail, bright blue spots at the base of the tail and rear body.

Initial phase: reddish head.

Juveniles: Reddish orange with white spots with black edges.

Photos 1 - 2: Moalboal Philippines

Photo 3: Bangka island North Sulawesi

 Maximum length: 20 cm

Depth: 1 - 20 m

Inhabits sand and rocky ground.

Hurghada Egypt

Maximum length: 12 cm

Depth: 6 - 35 m

Adult males are silver-grey with narrow,

elongated red stripes and a dark spot on the caudal peduncle.

The females have narrow orange stripes,

which are continuous in the front area but interrupted in the rear area.

Juveniles and females have two distinctive, dark-colored,

white-edged spots on the dorsal fin,

one in the middle and one near the back.

These can fade as the fish matures.

Bangka island North Sulawesi

Maximum length: 23 cm

Depth: 2 - 15 metres

Adults have a small two-coloured green and yellow spot above the pectoral fin.

In the centre of the body is a dark to black longitudinal stripe.

A dark triangular spot adorns the end of its caudal fin.

Juveniles are usually white and have a small dark spot at the base of the pectoral fin.

Bonaire Caribbean

 Maximum length: 20 cm

Depth: 3 - 15 m

Yellow head and front body with a dark transverse band in the centre of the body.

Always found around reefs.

Not shy, but always keeps a safe distance.

Bonaire Caribbean

 Maximum length: 27 cm

Depth: 1 - 30 m

Its body has a chequerboard pattern and a yellow spot on the back.

Females have a yellow tail.

Males control a large territory.

Hurghada Egypt

 Maximum length: 12 cm

Depth: 1 - 40 m

Variable colouration.

Shy animal, always close to the bottom, close to hiding places.

Foto 1: Bangka island North Sulawesi

Foto 2: Moalboal Philippines

 Maximum length: 18 cm

Depth: 5 - 25 metres

Tail root with spot and an orange stripe in the centre of the tail.

A blue stripe above and below the eye,

brown stripe through the eye to the tail,

which becomes weaker and weaker.

Brown stripe below the dorsal fin.

Juvenile form: Yellow-brown back, white belly,

pale brown stripe below the dorsal fin,

black stripe from the eye to the dorsal fin.

Swims around reefs.

Not shy, but keeps a safe distance.

Bonaire Caribbean

Maximum length: 45 cm

Depth: 3 - 15 metres

Both forms have five white stripes or spots on the back,

which are no longer visible in adults.

Juvenile form still has a blue spot in the centre of the back and on the dorsal fin.

Swim around reefs.

Shy, keeps a safe distance.

Bonaire Caribbean

Maximum length: 19 cm

Depth: 1 - 12 m

It has a slender, relatively elongated body,

a terminal mouth and a snout,

which is longer than that of the other angelfish of the genus Halichoeres.

Its coloration varies depending on the stage of maturity.

In the final stage, the males usually have a green base coloration,

its flanks are criss-crossed by blue lines,

the pattern of which can be reminiscent of chains.

The outer edges of the dorsal, caudal and anal fins are blue.

Other striking features are the concave head profile and the green-brown coloration.

Bangka island North Sulawesi

 Maximum length: 23 cm

Depth: 2 - 15 metres

From juvenile to adult form, it has a small greenish-yellow spot

above the pectoral fin and a longitudinal stripe in the centre of the body.

Juvenile form is mostly white.

Swims continuously in the reef, as well as on seagrass beds and sandy bottoms.

Hurghada Egypt

 Maximum length: 13 cm 

Depth: 1 - 15 m

The photo shows a female.

They have two pairs of large fangs in their upper jaw.

Males keep harems.

Hurghada Egypt

 Maximum length: 14 cm

Depth: 4 - 30 metres

If no males are present, the largest female will change into a male.

This species lives in shallow patch reefs, lagoons and bays with sand and rubble substrate.

Moalboal Philippines

 Maximum length: 12 cm

Depth: 1 - 21 m

Male guards a harem group.

It is a fast pectoral fin swimmer that briefly picks up invertebrates,

expelling the sand through the gill openings.

El Qesir Egypt

 Maximum length: 13 cm

Depth: 5 - 25 m

The photo shows a female.

Found in coral reefs and seagrass beds.

Hurghada Egypt

 Maximum length: 15 cm

Depth: 2 - 15 m

Blue head with two black horizontal bands and a white one in between.

Black spot behind the second fin ray.

There are three juvenile forms, but all already have the black spot on the dorsal fin

and a white belly as well as two spots behind the eye.

Juvenile form 1 with a broad black longitudinal stripe from the mouth to the tail

and a white back.( Photo 1)

Juvenile form 2 has a yellow back. ( Photo 2 )

Juvenile form 3 has horizontal stripes. ( no photo )

Not shy, swim close to you.

Bonaire Caribbean

Maximum length: 20 - 22 cm

Depth: 1 - 15 m

Greenish fish with four dark stripes on the upper body

and two more saddle-shaped stripes above the caudal peduncle.

In larger adult fish, the head has several pink stripes,

which originate from the vicinity of the eye.

Native to the tropical Indo-Pacific.

Found on coral reefs, reef slopes and in lagoons.

Bangka island North Sulawesi

 Maximum length: 27 cm

Depth: 0.5 - 20 m

Males are more beautifully coloured.

Very common on upper reef slopes.

Curious towards divers.

Eats invertebrates and small fish.

Hurghada Egypt

Maximum length: 43 cm

Depth: 0 - 20 m

Pale green body with Y pattern under the pectoral fin.

Lives almost exclusively in the surf zone of exposed rocks and coral reefs.

Difficult to photograph as it is always on the move, very shy and hard to approach.

El Qesir Egypt

 Maximum length: 20 cm

Depth: 1 - 20 m

The males are also more beautifully coloured.

Likes to live on upper reef slopes.

Curious towards divers. 

Not shy.

Hurghada Egypt

 Maximum length: 15 cm

Depth: 2 - 15 m

Hovers over sandy areas, often close to sea grass.

When threatened, it likes to disappear into the sand,

whereby it can then cover some distance underneath.

Keeps a safe distance from divers.

Bonaire Caribbean

Maximum length: 12 - 25 cm

Depth: 3 - 35 m

Very steep head profile, small eyes, females with a pearly white area on the belly.

Hovers over shallow sand and coral rubble beds

from which they build nests (coral rubble) or disappear into the sand in case of danger.

Bonaire Caribbean

Maximum length: 14 cm

Depth: 2 - 12 m

Body: Males with one ( occasionally two dark spots )

on the centre of the body. Females have no characteristic markings (may have transverse bands).

Their colouring varies greatly,

but almost always with a greenish tinge.

Red iris with green pupil.

When threatened they disappear into the sand.

Bonaire Caribbean