Fish Identifier

Fish Encyclopedia

Search and identify 1,000+ fish species — freshwater, saltwater, reef, and pelagic — with habitat, size, diet, behavior, and how to tell them apart.

Yellowtail Snapper

Yellowtail Snapper

A slender Caribbean reef fish with a bold golden stripe running from snout to its deeply forked yellow tail. Often seen swimming in open water above reefs rather than hugging the bottom.

reef
Snapper

Snapper

A robust, reef-dwelling fish with a reddish-pink body and striking red eyes, common over rocky bottoms, reefs, and wrecks throughout the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic.

reef
Yellowtail

Yellowtail

A streamlined, silvery jack with a distinctive yellow stripe running along its flanks and a yellow tail, found in temperate coastal waters worldwide.

pelagic
Mangrove Snapper

Mangrove Snapper

A grayish snapper common along mangrove shorelines and estuaries of the western Atlantic, showing a faint dark stripe through the eye and a pointed, angular head.

brackish
Mutton Snapper

Mutton Snapper

A rosy-pink Western Atlantic reef snapper marked by blue eye-lines and a small black spot below the dorsal fin, with elegantly pointed fin tips.

reef
Grey Snapper

Grey Snapper

The grey snapper, also called mangrove snapper, is an adaptable western Atlantic species with a dark reddish-grey body and a dark streak through the eye, ranging from mangrove estuaries to coral reefs.

reef
Cubera Snapper

Cubera Snapper

The largest snapper in the Atlantic, a heavy-bodied reef predator with oversized canine teeth. Adults hold near deep ledges and wrecks, while juveniles grow up in mangrove nurseries.

reef
Yellowtail Amberjack

Yellowtail Amberjack

A powerful, streamlined jack marked by a bold yellow lateral stripe and yellow tail, roaming temperate and subtropical waters worldwide around reefs, wrecks, and open water.

pelagic
Yellowtail Rockfish

Yellowtail Rockfish

A slender, olive-brown Pacific rockfish with yellow-tinted fins that schools in large midwater aggregations over rocky reefs and open water along the North American coast.

saltwater
Vermilion Snapper

Vermilion Snapper

A slender, vivid pinkish-red snapper of deep offshore reefs and hard bottom, feeding mainly on plankton picked from the water column rather than the substrate.

reef
Schoolmaster Snapper

Schoolmaster Snapper

The schoolmaster snapper is a yellow-tinged reef snapper of the western Atlantic, recognized by faint pale bars and a blue line beneath the eye, common around reefs, mangroves, and seagrass.

reef
Sailfin Snapper

Sailfin Snapper

The sailfin snapper is a striking Indo-Pacific reef fish with blue diagonal stripes, yellow fins, and a tall, flowing dorsal fin, often seen over sand patches near coral reefs.

reef
Red Snapper

Red Snapper

A rosy-red snapper of the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern U.S. coast, recognized by its sloped profile, sharp triangular teeth, and bright red eyes.

reef
Longspine Snapper

Longspine Snapper

The longspine snapper is a slender, bright red deepwater snapper known for an elongated filament trailing from its dorsal fin, found on steep offshore slopes across the Indo-Pacific.

deepsea
Lane Snapper

Lane Snapper

A small, silvery-pink schooling snapper marked by faint yellow stripes and a black spot near the tail base, common across shallow Western Atlantic reefs and seagrass.

reef
Dog Snapper

Dog Snapper

A robust, coppery-red Western Atlantic snapper named for its prominent canine teeth, identified by a pale triangular patch beneath the eye.

reef
Yellowtail Flounder

Yellowtail Flounder

A slender northwest Atlantic flatfish recognized by the rusty-yellow tint along its tail edge, reddish-brown upper body, and preference for sandy continental shelf bottoms.

saltwater
Yellowtail Wrasse

Yellowtail Wrasse

A striking Indo-Pacific wrasse whose bright red spotted juveniles transform into green-blue adults with a yellow tail.

reef
Yellowtail Damselfish

Yellowtail Damselfish

A dark, deep-bodied Caribbean damselfish with a bright yellow tail, known for aggressively farming algae gardens.

reef
Pacific Red Snapper

Pacific Red Snapper

A bright reddish-pink snapper of rocky reefs along the Eastern Pacific coast from Mexico to Peru, closely resembling its Atlantic namesake but found in a different ocean.

reef
Yellowtail Blue Damselfish

Yellowtail Blue Damselfish

A small, vividly electric-blue damselfish with a sharply contrasting bright yellow tail, common on shallow reef flats and lagoons of the western Pacific.

reef

Two-spot Red Snapper

The two-spot red snapper, or bohar snapper, is a large, deep red Indo-Pacific reef predator, sometimes showing two pale saddle spots on the back, and an important predator on coral reef slopes.

reef
Mangrove Jack

Mangrove Jack

A deep red Indo-Pacific snapper whose juveniles grow up in mangrove estuaries and rivers, tolerating salinities from freshwater to full seawater.

brackish
Japanese Amberjack

Japanese Amberjack

The Japanese Amberjack, or yellowtail, is a streamlined pelagic jack from the northwestern Pacific, identified by its bright yellow lateral stripe and yellow-tinged fins.

pelagic