Indonesian Sweetlips

Scientific Name: Diagramma melanacrum
Family: Sweetlips – Haemulidae
Maximum Size: 50cm
Identification: Gray with brown spotting on body, larger blackish spots on yellow dorsal and tail fins, black ventral and anal fins. Large juveniles have combination of stripes and longitudinal rows of spots.
Favourite: Solitary or form groups over sand bottoms.
Hide-out: Coastal reefs and lagoons in 3-40m.
Location: Asian Pacific – Malaysian Peninsula, Indonesia and Philippines.

Goldstriped Sweetlips

Scientific Name: Plectorhinchus chrysotaenia
Family: Sweetlips – Haemulidae
Maximum Size: 50cm
Identification: Silvery-blue with numerous yellow stripes, bright yellow fins.
Favourite: Solitary or form groups.
Hide-out: Coral-rich areas of coastal reefs and lagoons in 6-70m.
Location: Asian Pacific – S.W. Japan and Molucca Is. in Indonesia to Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia.

Gold-Spotted Sweetlips

Scientific Name: Plectorhinchus flavomaculatus
Family: Sweetlips – Haemulidae
Maximum Size: 60cm
Identification: Gray with orange and blue stripes on head and small orange spots on upper body extending onto dorsal and tail fins.
Favourite: Solitary or form small groups.
Hide-out: Sheltered coastal reefs and lagoons in 2-25m.
Location: Indo-Asian Pacific – Red Sea and E. Africa to Papua New Guinea. S.W. Japan to Australia.

Giant Sweetlips

Scientific Name: Plectorhinchus albovittatus
Family: Sweetlips – Haemulidae
Maximum Size: 100cm
Identification: Dusky gray mottled body; faint wide dark bar behind pectoral fin; black ventral fins and black edges on dorsal, anal and tail fins.
Favourite: Solitary.
Hide-out: Lagoon and seaward reefs in 2-50m.
Location: Indo-West Pacific – Red Sea and E. Africa to Fiji. S.W. Japan to Australia.

Diagonal-Banded Sweetlips

Scientific Name: Plectorhinchus lineatus
Family: Sweetlips – Haemulidae
Maximum Size: 48cm
Identification: White with black body bands and white belly; lips and fins yellow; spotted dorsal, anal and tail fins.
Favourite: Solitary or form small groups; generally nocturnally but drift in the open during the day.
Hide-out: Coastal reefs, lagoons and seaward reefs to 35m.
Location: Asian Pacific – Indonesia and Philippines to Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia, north to S.W. Japan.