Indonesia Photo gallery: fish

Fish:

NOTE: We are not experts on the fish of Indonesia. If you find we have misidentified something, or you can identify something we could not, please contact us.

Sand perches are benthic fish which normally live over sand or rubble substrates in shallow seas. They tend to sit on the sea bed propped up by their widely-separated pelvic fins.

Yellowtail sandperch, Parapercis sp.

Reticulated sandperch, Parapercis tetracantha

Red-spotted sandperch, Parapercis schauinslandi

Nose-stripe sandperch, Parapercis lineopunctata

Puffers are related to porcupinefish but their spines are only visible when the fish has puffed up. They have four large teeth that are fused into an upper and lower plate, used for crushing crustaceans and mollucs for food. Most are toxic.

Black-saddled toby, Canthigaster valentini

Canthigaster sp.

Yellowspotted burrfish, Cyclichthys spilostylus

Lionfish, stonefish and scorpionfish: Lionfish are veneomous marine fish with conspicuous warning coloration, showy pectoral fins, and venomous spiky fin rays. Stonefish are some of the most venomous fish known. The potent neurotoxins are secreted from glands at the base of the needle-like dorsal fin spines, which stick up when the fish is threatened. Scorpionfish have sharp spines coated with venomous mucus.

Common lionfish, Pterois volitans

Reef stonefish, Synaneia verrucosa

Papuan scorpionfish, Scorpaenopsis papuensis

tTassled scorpionfish, Scorpaenopsis oxycephala

Wasp-spine velvetfish, Acanthosphex leurynnis

Pipefishes look like straight-bodied seahorses with tiny mouths. The snout is a long tube, ending in a narrow and small mouth which opens upwards and is toothless. They have a highly modified skeleton formed into armored plating. The gill openings are very small. Ghost pipefishes are related to pipefishes and seahorses. They feed on tiny crustaceans which they suck into their long snouts. Ghost pipefish females brood their eggs in their enlarged pelvice fins.

Briarium pipefish, Apterygocampus epinnulatus

Ornate ghost pipefish, Solenostomus paradoxus

Roughsnout ghost pipefish, Solenostomus paegnius

Short-tailed pipefish, Trachyrhamphus bicoarctatus

Schultz's pipefish, Corythoichthys cf schultzi

Gobies are small to medium-sized ray-finned fish with large heads and tapered bodies.

Pale dwarfgoby, Trimma anaima

Orangetip sandgoby, Istigobius decoratus

Starry goby, Asteropteryx cf semipunctatus

Redbarred shrimpgoby, Amblyeleotris sp.

Twostripe goby, Valenciennea helsdingenii

Blennies are small fish with elongated bodies and relatively large eyes and mouths,

False cleanerfish, Aspidontus taeniatus

Four-fingered blenny, Andamia tetradctylus (with nudibranch)

Frogfish are small, short, stocky, camouflaged fish. Many species can change color, and some are covered with other organisms such as algae or hydrozoa. They move slowly, lying in wait for prey, and then strike extremely rapidly.

Warty frogfish, Antennarius maculatus (juvenile)

Painted frogfish, Antennarius pictus

Ocellated frogfish, Antennarius sp.

Giant frogfish, Antennarius commersoni

Eels: Moray eels have a dorsal fin which extends from just behind the head along the back and joins seamlessly with the caudal and anal fins. Most species lack pectoral and pelvic fins, Their eyes are relatively small; they rely on their sense of smell instead. Ribbon eels are found in Indo-Pacific lagoons and reefs. They have long, thin bodies and high dorsal fins.

Yellowmargin moray, Gymnothorax flavimarginatus

Ribbon eel, Rhinomuraena quaesita (female)

Wrasses are a highly-diverse family of small fish. Theu are efficient carnivores, feeding on a wide range of small invertebrates.

Slender wrasse, Oxycheilinus orientalis

Bluestreak cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus (juvenile), on batfish

Butterflyfish are brightlhy colored and strikingly patterned fish with deep, laterally narrow bodies.

Klein's butterflyfish, Chaetodon kleinii

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Last modified 30 October 2024