12 Hawaiian Fish With Pictures You Will See While snorkeling

Hawaii’s waters teem with marine life, and snorkeling is the best way to explore the colorful underwater world. If you have always wanted to know what fish are found in Hawaii, read this list that features the 12 Hawaiian fish names and pictures so that you will quickly identify the most common species on your next snorkeling vacation!

Trumpetfish

Trumpetfish (locally called Nunu) is probably one of this list’s most interesting Hawaiian Fish names. These weird species look entirely different than most common Hawaiian Fish. Trumpetfish have a long body (like a trumpet), and they are so thin that from certain angles, they are not even visible in the water.

Their normal color is gray, but they can change it to green or even yellow and add horizontal and vertical stripes to blend in with the environment. They are usually not shy and just hang around in the water, hunting peacefully.

Moorish idol

Known as Kihikihi in Hawaii, the Morish Idol is a species that most people know from the animated sea movie Finding Nemo.

With a pretty large size (they grow over 8 inches) and broad, vertical black, yellow, and white stripes, tall dorsal fin, and tapered nose, Morish Idol belongs to the most common and easily recognizable Hawaiian reef fish, and it is almost guaranteed that you will see some while snorkeling in any Hawaiian Island.

Reef Triggerfish

Hawaii’s State Fish, Humuhumunukunukuapuaa, is a multicolored, parallelogram body-shaped fish with a blue mustache, blue-black striped cap, and a bright gold outlined ‘V’ right before the fan-looking tail.

Besides their colorful appearance, dolphins are easily recognizable from their swimming style: They use their fins on their belly and back to push themselves forward in the water.

Divers and snorkelers need to be careful with reef triggerfish. They are usually shy and swim quickly away, but when protecting their nest, they become aggressive and can bite.

The fun fact is that the local name of this Hawaaiin Reef Fish means ‘fish with nose like a pig’. This is because when they are stressed, they can make pig-like sounds.

Hawaiian Lionfish

Divers and snorkelers probably have a love-and-hate relationship with invasive lionfish. They are beautiful but, in certain places, are very harmful to the local ecosystems. In Hawaii, these species, called dragonfly fish (honu piano), are native and a natural part of the reefs.

In Hawaii, there are red and green lionfish. The green ones are smaller, grow about 6 inches long, and are common in shallow waters, while the red ones are a bit bigger, 7-8 inches long, and usually live in deeper waters. Lionfish usually become active after sunset, but there is a chance to see them during the day, too.

No matter what type of lionfish you see, note that never touch them. They have poisonous spines. When they are approached, they flare out and rotate their fins.

Achilles Tang

If you love Greek history, then Paku’iku’i, Achilles Tang, can be your favorite Hawaiian reef fish since this species was named after Achilles, the Greek warrior.

Snorkelers can find this species in shallow reefs. Achilles Tangs are easily recognizable: they are larger than most reef fish, and on their dark body, there is an orange teardrop patch before the tail. A bright orange bar also runs along the tail.

Yellow Tang

If you search for Hawaiian Fish names and pictures, you will probably notice that there are always bright yellow fish in the images. These species, Yellow tangs (Lau’ipala), are the fish that are commonly used to advertise snorkeling in Hawaii. Also, this species can be familiar from Finding Nemo, too, for its role in Bubbles.

The dish-shaped Yellow tangs usually swim in large schools. The best part is that when you see Yellow Tangs, you are likely to see Green Sea Turtles, too, since Yellow Tangs are used to clean the shells of this turtle species.

Longnose Butterflyfish

There are different Butterflyfish species in the Hawaiian waters. They belong to the most typical reef fish.

This species, the Longnose Butterflyfish, is not too big but is easy to identify from its very long nose, yellow-black mask, and black spot beneath the tail. Not only is its nose so long but also its Hawaiian name. They are called lauwiliwilinukunukuoi’oi, which is the longest-known fish name in Hawaii!

Tip: Should you wish to see these beautiful fish in real life, too, start planning your Hawaii vacation now, here are our island-specific guides to help:
Where to snorkel in Maui
Big Island snorkeling spots
Snorkeling in Kauai
Oahu snorkel guide

Raccoon butterflyfish

Another common reef fish species, Raccoon Butterflyfish -kīkākapu- live in a huge number on the Hawaiian reefs. They are named for their raccoon-like black face mask.

Their body is yellow and black, with a white headband, black stripes along the side, and a white headband. Raccoon Butterflyfish are usually seen in pairs but even in shoals of hundreds up to the depth of 60ft/18m.

Parrotfish

The colorful parrotfish have an important role in the underwater ecosystem. They clean the corals and create beach-building sand also as they poop, so they are not only one of the most beautiful Hawaiian Reef Fish Species, but their presence is essential on healthy reefs.

The native Hawaiian Parrotfish (Uhu) is orange with purple fins, while the Bullethead is rainbow-colored. An interesting fact about parrotfish is that the males live with several females. When the male dies, the alpha of the females becomes the male by switching sex.

If you’ve ever heard that strange, rasping sound while snorkeling, that is when parrotfish crunch up and pulverize the coral pieces with their razor-sharp teeth.

Bluestripe Snapper

The bright yellow, blue-striped snappers (Ta’ape) are shoaling fish. They usually move around rocky pinnacles in big groups.

This Hawaiian reef fish has an exciting story. Initially, the Hawaii Government brought this species to Hawaii to create an additional food source for the population. Still, it turned out that eating because their flesh might have a high concentration of ciguatera, a neurotoxin found in marine algae species snappers eat.

Because eating snappers can make people sick, fishermen stopped catching them, and their population exploded. Although they are beautiful, they can crowd out native species and cause problems in the marine ecosystem in the future.

Tip: if you want to learn more about marine species, get a fish identification book!

Freckled Hawkfish

When looking for interesting species while snorkeling or diving in Hawaii, don’t forget to look among the corals, too. Surprisingly, not all fish are swimming; some are just sitting on the corals.

The weird-looking Freckled Hawkfish (Hilu piliko’a) is found lying on the corals on its pectoral fins. The juveniles are usually white and brownish, while the adults can be pink or green, or even burgundy-yellow, in all cases with red freckles.

Squirrelfish

A deep red colored, large-eyed fish with bluish-whitish stripes and big eyes, this is Ala’ihi (Squirrelfish), another most commonly seen reef fish in Hawaii. They are endemic species, meaning they are only found in Hawaiian waters.

Although they are common, they are not that easy to find since squirrelfish usually like resting in quiet, dark places, holes, and caves during the day and are active at night. This is why their eyes are so big.

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