Yellow Tang.
The vivid lemon-yellow surgeonfish that flashes through every Hawaiian reef — and one of the most recognizable fish in the world.
The yellow tang, called lauʻīpala (yellowed leaf) in Hawaiian, is one of the most iconic reef fish on Earth — bright lemon by day, fading to a paler grey-yellow at night when it tucks into a crevice to sleep. Most of the world's yellow tangs come from Hawaiian waters, especially the west coast of Hawaiʻi Island.
Like all surgeonfish, yellow tangs carry a scalpel-sharp spine on each side of the tail. Folded down when calm, the spines flick out for defense and can deliver a serious cut. Their primary job on the reef is to graze algae from the rocks, keeping fast-growing seaweeds from smothering young coral.
Yellow tangs were one of the most heavily collected aquarium fish until the State of Hawaiʻi suspended the West Hawaiʻi commercial aquarium fishery in 2020. Populations are recovering, and the Aquarium has played a role in pioneering captive breeding so the global trade no longer needs to take wild fish.
More species in this group.
Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa
The reef triggerfish — Hawaiʻi's official state fish, with a name that means "fish that sews with a needle and grunts like a pig."
Moorish Idol
Iconic black, white and yellow reef fish with a long sweeping dorsal filament — solitary, mysterious, famously hard to keep in captivity.
Raccoon Butterflyfish
Golden butterflyfish with a black bandit's mask. Often paired for life and one of the most common nighttime feeders on the reef.
Longnose Butterflyfish
A bright yellow butterflyfish with an extraordinarily long, tube-like snout — a precision tool for tweezing prey from the tightest reef cracks.