Yellowfin Parrotfish

The yellowfin parrotfish, also called the king parrotfish, keeps deeper company than most of its kin. It works lagoon and channel reefs, usually below 20 m, and reaches 40 m. It has been seen as shallow as 2 m, but that is the exception. At up to 40 cm it is a solid fish, and on a deep channel wall the yellow in its fins is often the first thing you notice.

Also known as: king parrotfish, rainbow parrotfish, yellow-finned parrotfish, king parrotfish, rainbow parrotfish

Deep-reef parrotfish all look alike in blue water, and a plain female here could be almost anything. On a male, let the head line decide it. Sight along the fish from the front and check that the green runs unbroken from the very tip of the snout to the shoulder. Then look at the paired fins behind the gills for yellow. Both together are the yellowfin; neither on its own is enough.

Males and females are easy to take for different fish. A male carries yellow pectoral fins, the paired fins just behind the gills, and in large males they look almost see-through with a yellow-tan wash. Big males also show an oval yellow patch on the tail base. A green line runs level along the head, from the tip of the snout back to above the pectoral fin. Females are plain yellowish grey with pale lines along the belly, and large fish in this phase can look simply tan. The tail is square-cut in younger fish and slightly crescent-shaped in a full-grown male.

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  Bicolour parrotfish

  Cetoscarus bicolor

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  Bleeker's parrotfish

  Chlorurus bleekeri

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  Blue-barred parrotfish

  Scarus ghobban

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  Bridled parrotfish

  Scarus frenatus

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  Carolines parrotfish

  Calotomus carolinus

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  Chameleon Parrotfish

  Scarus chameleon