20 Most Colorful Saltwater Fish for Your Aquarium

If you are interested in starting a saltwater aquarium and not sure where to begin, then you are in the right place because we are fish industry experts and in this blog, we will help you with the information related to colorful saltwater fish.

Let’s help you in figuring out which saltwater fish species are the best choices for your saltwater aquarium.

Get ready to dive into the list of the most colorful saltwater fish, and later in this article, we’ll give you more information on colorful saltwater aquarium fish maintenance and coloration.

Bring Your Aquatic World to Life: 20 Most Colorful Saltwater Fish

Saltwater fish are desirable for their bright colors, bold personalities, and ease of care. Since there are thousands of different species, and each has its own unique pattern and design, it can be difficult for you to decide upon the best fish buddy for your aquarium.

This article covers fish species that you can put in a home saltwater aquarium, and here is a list of the 20 most colorful saltwater fish for your tank. Let’s check them out!

1. Regal Blue Tang
2. Flame Angelfish
3. Longnose Hawkfish
4. Melanurus Wrasse
5. Clown Goby
6. Rusty Angelfish
7. Dottyback Fish
8. Purple Queen
9. Polka Dot Grouper
10. Moorish Idol
11. Neon Goby
12. Undulate Triggerfish
13. Pajama Cardinalfish
14. Red Mandarin Dragonet
15. Candy Basslet
16. Pinecone Fish
17. Spotted Boxfish
18. Lyretail Anthias
19. Chalk Bass
20. Tomini Tang

We’ve put together this list of all of the top colorful saltwater fish. Now, dive deeper to gain a better understanding of saltwater fish coloration and their types, water levels, feeding, and maintenance.

1. Regal Blue Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus)

Regal Blue Tang is an extremely famous fish because of Disney’s Finding Nemo and Finding Dory. It is the most vibrant fish that grows up to 6 inches in length. It is a difficult task to create an environment for Regal Tang in the home saltwater tankas it is an open water swimmer. There are three types of Tang fish — Powder Blue Tang, Blue Tang, and Yellow Tang. They all are surgeonfish and belong to the same family group. These fish have bold and beautiful coloration, making the saltwater fish tank attractive.

• Color: Blue with a yellow tail
• Environment: Clearwater surrounded by coral reefs
• Temperature: 22.2–25.6 °C (72.0–78.0 °F)
• Tank Size: 75-gallon tank
• Temperament(Nature): Peaceful
• Food and Diet: Herbivore | Algivorous, including marine plants and detritus
• Lifespan: 8–20 years

Care Guide

Regal Blue Tang fish requires care in terms of adequate water flow, space to swim, and the right amount of diet. Because of its easy-to-moderate care level, Blue Tang is an ideal option for intermediate-level aquarists.

2. Flame Angelfish (Centropyge loriculus)

Another perfect bright-colored saltwater fish for your tank is Flame Angelfish that is one of the most popular dwarf angelfish species. This species can grow up to 4 inches and can live up to 7 to 8 years with proper care.

Flame Angelfish has an oval-shaped body with rounded fins and bulky composure. But when it comes to coloration, it stands out beautifully in a saltwater tank. It has an orange body with a small amount of iridescent yellow in the background, which is outlined in blue color with distinctive black stripes throughout the body.

• Color: Bold red/orange
• Environment: Live-rock tank surrounded by coral reefs
• Temperature: 25–27 °C (75–80 °F)
• Tank Size: 70-gallon tank
• Temperament(Nature): Semi-aggressive
• Food and Diet: Omnivore — consisting of algae and crustaceans
• Lifespan: 7–8 years

Care Guide

Flame Angelfish have a moderate maintenance level, and without a doubt, it is one of the most popular dwarf angelfish for beginners and experienced saltwater aquarists. With regular water changes and a proper diet on time, this fish can thrive for so many years in your home aquarium.

3. Longnose Hawkfish (Oxycirrhites typus)

The only reason to add Longnose Hawkfish is that it is unique and has amazing patterns of red and white color. It is another great addition to a peaceful saltwater tank at your home.

This species is bright, intelligent, disease-resistant and has a feasible personality, which makes it ideal for beginner aquarists. This fish gets along well with other species as long as its tank mates are larger than bite size.

• Color: Red and White
• Environment: At least 30 gallons with lots of rocks and corals
• Temperature: 22–27 °C (76–80 °F)
• Tank Size: 30-gallon tank
• Temperament(Nature): Hardy and Semi-aggressive species
• Food and Diet: Carnivorous, it includes a variety of marine meats, frozen preparations, and live feeder shrimp
• Lifespan: 10 years

Care Guide

Longnose Hawkfish requires water level care. You must have at least a 30-gallon aquarium, with plenty of live rock hiding places and perches. Also, it should always be included in your tank last to help curb territorial aggression.

4. Melanurus Wrasse (Halichoeres melanurus)

The next bright colorful saltwater fish is Melanurus Wrasse. This species is also popular as Hoeven’s Wrasse, Tail-Spot Wrasse, Yellow-Lined Wrasse, Orange-Tipped Rainbowfish, and Pinstripe Wrasse.

Melanurus Wrasse has beautiful colors and is one of the most popular saltwater fish. It can grow up to an adult size of 5 inches.

This species is compatible with other peaceful wrasses, including various species of Halichores.

• Color: Silvery-blue body with horizontal yellow stripes (Females) | Green in color and have blue, red and yellow stripes (Males)
• Environment: Survive with other peaceful wrasses, including different species in Halichoeres
• Temperature: 22–26 °C (77–78 °F)
• Tank Size: 55-gallon tank
• Temperament(Nature): Peaceful
• Food and Diet: Carnivore–meaty foods, bugs and pests in tank
• Lifespan: 4–6 years

Care Guide

Melanurus Wrasse is a flawless fish for beginner aquarium hobbyists, and this species can be managed easily with the right care. It includes provision of the right water level, tank size and, most importantly, diet.

5. Clown Goby (Gobiodon okinawae)

Another great option for your saltwater aquarium is Clown Goby which is incredibly small in size, almost 2 inches long in length! This species is peaceful, available in many vibrant colors, inexpensive, and hardy. Clown Goby is considered a décor fish, and it will perfectly fit in a lush reef environment. It thrives better in rock and coral with colonies of polyp corals.

• Color: Yellow
• Environment: High and stable water quality with carols
• Temperature: 22–27 °C (72–82 °F)
• Tank Size: 10-gallon tank
• Temperament(Nature): Peaceful
• Food and Diet: Carnivore–feed a mixture of approx. 85% algae, shrimp, garlic & mussels
• Lifespan: 2–6 years

Care Guide

Clown Gobies are an excellent option for beginner aquarists, but they should be kept away from larger carnivorous fish, and it requires special care with proper water flow/nutrition.

6. Rusty Angelfish (Centropyge ferrugata)

Another common colorful saltwater fish for beginners is the rusty angelfish, which gets its name from its reddish-amber coloration and black spots. It’s a small-sized angel too, which is 4 inches long in length.

Rusty Angelfish resembles the Coral Beauty Angelfish but has more orange coloration. It can live peacefully with other dwarf Angelfish species as long as they are all introduced at the same time.

• Color: Blue and Red
• Environment: 70 gallons with large amounts of live rock for hiding and grazing
• Temperature: 22–26 °C (77–78 °F)
• Tank Size: 70-gallon tank
• Temperament(Nature): Semi-aggressive
• Food and Diet: Omnivore–provides a varied diet of meaty fish, marine vegetables, and algae-based foods
• Lifespan: 10–15 years

Care Guide

The care level is listed as moderate, as it is a hardy and colorful fish, and it requires a minimum 70-gallon tank with live rock for hiding and grazing. Rusty Angelfish may nip at corals and clam mantles, so caution should be taken when placing it in a reef tank.

7. Dottyback Fish (Pseudochromis spp.)

Dottyback is a genus of small, brightly purple-colored saltwater fish, a small carnivorous fish with 2 to 4 inches of normal length. This coloured species can add a bright addition to your saltwater tank and even to your reef tank. In nature, Dottybacks are aggressive — may bully both tank mates and larger fish.

• Color: Available in a wide range of natural colors
• Environment: Marine tank with corals, rocks, and caves
• Temperature: 22–28 °C (74–82 °F)
• Tank Size: 30 to 40 gallons tank
• Temperament(Nature): Semi-aggressive
• Food and Diet: Strictly carnivorous– only feed on small crustaceans, polychaete worms, and plankton
• Lifespan: 5–7 years

Care Guide

When it comes to Dottyback care, they are listed as easy to moderate. All they require is an ideal environment, compatibility, and diet. But due to the aggression in Dottyback’s nature, they are still easily manageable. Even beginner aquarists can care for this fish.

8. Purple Queen (Pseudanthias tuka)

If you are thinking about having a purple fish, then go for Purple Queen. The Purple Queen fish has distinct differences in color between sexes; however, females have a bright yellow stripe on the back that extends onto the caudal fin.

Purple Queen grows up to 6 inches in the wild and should be kept in a tank of at least 35 gallons. It is a very active fish and needs adequate room for swimming.

• Color: Pink and purple body with blue fins, and a multi-colored face with a yellow chin
• Environment: Most suitable environment is a reef aquarium
• Temperature: 22–26 °C (72–78 °F)
• Tank Size: 125-gallon tank
• Temperament (Nature): Semi-aggressive
• Food and Diet: It consists of zooplankton
• Lifespan: 5–7 years

Care Guide

The best care technique requires balanced water flow and proper feed. Also, it is ideal for keeping only one fish per tank or one male fish with several females in a much larger tank.

9. Polka Dot Grouper (Chromileptes altivelis)

Polka Dot grouper is a popular saltwater fish due to its eye-catching color pattern, unusual appearance, entertaining swimming behavior, and loveable personality.

Grouper is potentially the easiest of all available marine aquarium fish to care for. It is a practically indestructible, long-lived fish that can outlive the life of an aquarium!

The Charmer Polka Dot Grouper grows up to be almost 28 inches long quite quickly.

• Color: Off-white fish with orderly black polka-dots
• Environment: Saltwater with live rock and plenty of space for swimming
• Temperature: 24–26 °C (75–78 °F)
• Tank Size: 300-gallon tank
• Temperament (Nature): Aggressive
• Food and Diet: Carnivore–large chunks of meaty foods such as krill, raw table shrimp, squid, clam and mussel
• Lifespan: 20+ years

Care Guide

The care level of Polka Dot Grouper is moderate and it thrives best in tanks of around 50 gallons but should have a good filtration system to cycle waste.

10. Moorish Idol (Zanclus cornutus)

Moorish Idol is visually stunning and popular because of its shape and color pattern. It is the only family member of Zanclidae and a very close relative of the Tangs or Surgeonfish.

It can attain a length of 7 inches in the sea, but if we talk about the aquarium, it only grows up to 4 inches. Also, it is a peaceful fish, that’s why it should be kept with other non-aggressive species.

• Color: Black, White, and Yellow
• Environment: Offers a lot of open swimming space as well as a lot of reef-like hiding places
• Temperature: 25–28 °C (75–82 °F)
• Tank Size: 100-gallon tank
• Temperament (Nature): Moderately-Peaceful
• Food and Diet: Omnivorous–Sponges, coral polyps, tunicates and other benthic invertebrates
• Lifespan: 2–4 years

Care Guide

Moorish Idol is a very difficult fish to the level of care — it requires a balanced diet. As it’s an omnivorous species, it needs algae and sponges for feeding, and other than this, a varied diet such as finely chopped meaty items, mysis shrimp, vitamin-enriched brine shrimp, and much more.

11. Neon Goby (Elacatinus oceanops)

Another type of colorful exotic saltwater fish is Neon Goby, which is a vibrant addition to any community saltwater aquarium. It is a small and peaceful fish, characterized as a vibrant blue stripe species.

Neon Gobies are perfect for peaceful community fish tanks, as it easily gets along with many different saltwater fish. Because of their small size, they are well-suited for smaller setups.

• Color: Black, Blue
• Environment: It’s an ideal addition for saltwater, reef tanks and also for nano aquarium setup
• Temperature: 25–28 °C (75–82 °F)
• Tank Size: 10-gallon tank
• Temperament (Nature): Hardy & Peaceful
• Food and Diet: Carnivore
• Lifespan: 2–4 years

Care Guide

Neon Goby is easy to care for but you need to ensure to provide a good environment with proper water quality and a well-decided diet. Also, try to keep them with non-aggressive tankmates.

12. Undulate Triggerfish (Balistapus undulatus)

An attractive emerald-green body with yellow-orange vertical stripes — Undulate Triggerfish. It is a striking addition to any saltwater tank, but keep in mind that it’s a highly-aggressive fish.

It requires a 180-gallon larger aquarium with lots of room and a cave or rocks to retreat into. They are nice pets to have in your tank and prefer feeding from the owners’ hand only!

• Color: Black, Blue, Green, Orange, Yellow
• Environment: It’s an ideal addition for saltwater, reef tanks and also for nano aquarium setup
• Temperature: 22.2–25.6 °C (72–78 °F)
• Tank Size: 60–180 gallons tank
• Temperament (Nature): Highly-Aggressive
• Food and Diet: Omnivore–Fish, Larger crustaceans (Shrimp, crabs), Other invertebrates, and Small crustaceans (Krill, mysis, artemia)
• Lifespan: 5–10 years

Care Guide

Tigger’s care level is from easy to moderate, as it can be easily handled if you take the right maintenance steps — And they are among the hardiest of all marine fish.

13. Pajama Cardinalfish (Sphaeramia nematoptera)

A rainbow of playful colors — Pajama Cardinalfish is nearly perfect for almost any tank. It will easily settle with any other fish (Alert: that won’t try to eat them). Get one today because it has a very timid nature and its bold coloration increases the beauty of your tank.

The max growth of this saltwater species is up to 5 inches, and most importantly, they do best in small groups or schools.

• Color: Green, White
• Environment: Plenty of live rock with coral structures
• Temperature: 22.2–25.6 °C (72–78 °F)
• Tank Size: 20–30 gallons tank
• Temperament (Nature): Very timid and peaceful
• Food and Diet: Carnivorous–consists of small crustaceans, a meaty diet of frozen food, pellets and flake food
• Lifespan: 5–10 years

Care Guide

This specimen is easy to care for — requires only a good environment with warmer water temperatures and a maintained pH level. Mark down the water level. It’s essential for the best health — keep them in a 30-gallon tank.

14. Red Mandarin Dragonet (Synchiropus cf splendidus)

Red Mandarin Dragonet is a small, brightly colored member of the dragonet family. It has a structural pattern and looks like a maze with a color combination of blue, orange, and red. Because of its unusual beauty, the red Mandarin fish is a rare creature in the marine community and is extremely popular among aquarists.

It grows to a maximum length of 4 inches, and it should be kept in a well-established 30- gallon aquarium.

• Color: Red, Orange and Blue
• Environment: A shallow coral reef with lots of plants, sponges, and places for hiding
• Temperature: 22–28 °C (72–84 °F)
• Tank Size: 30 gallon tank
• Temperament (Nature): Peaceful
• Food and Diet: Carnivorous–copepods, a small invertebrate (crustacean) and sometimes brine shrimp or mysis shrimp
• Lifespan: 2–4 years

Care Guide

Because of their specialized diet requirements, these fish are difficult to keep. Red Mandarin Dragonets are relatively simple to keep once the dietary challenge has been overcome.

15. Candy Basslet (Liopropoma carmabi)

Candy Basslet is a very rare deepwater basslet that adds vibrant colors to any saltwater aquarium. It can be found at depths of 80 to 250 ft below the surface.

Because of its vibrant orange and bright purple color, it can be challenging to take a photograph. The max size of this species is 2.5 inches.

• Color: Varied colors–orange, purple, red, blue
• Environment: Shallow reef with lots of plants, sponges and hiding spots
• Temperature: 20–23.3 °C (68–74 °F)
• Tank Size: 20–30 gallons tank
• Temperament (Nature): Non-aggressive and docile
• Food and Diet: Carnivorous–includes meaty items, marine algae, spirulina, and mysis shrimp
• Lifespan: 3–5 years

Care Guide

The care level is reported as moderate in the aquarist community, and it requires a well-established water tank with the right Ph level and temperature.

16. Pinecone Fish (Monocentridae)

Pinecone fish are small and rare marine fish — they belong to the family Monocentridae. This fish has a brilliant yellow oval body covered with enlarged, spiny platelike scales. In length, they normally grow to 5 inches and are considered as another best option for a colorful saltwater tank.

Pinecone fish should provide plenty of caves to hide from the light and add peaceful tank mates in the tank.

• Color: Black and Yellow
• Environment: Live rock, caves to hide from light and friendly mates
• Temperature: 22–28 °C (64–72 °F)
• Tank Size: 30-gallon tank
• Temperament (Nature): Peaceful
• Food and Diet: Carnivorous–copepods, a small invertebrate (crustacean) and sometimes brine shrimp or mysis shrimp
• Lifespan: 2–4 years

Care Guide

This particular species is for ‘experts only pet’ — because of the increased level of care requirement. Another major reason is that Pinecone fish need favorable conditions to live long.

17. Spotted Boxfish (Ostracion cubicus)

Another saltwater fish that will enhance the beauty of the colorful tank is Spotted Boxfish. This species is available in two colors Black Spotted Box Fish with White spots and Yellow Spotted Box Fish with Black spots. Both of them belong to the same family group that is Ostraciidae.

However, the cubic of Yellow Spotted Box reaches a maximum length of 18 inches and for Black Spotted Box it’s up to 8 inches.

Yellow Spotted Box fish are solitary animals — however, the breeding takes place only in spring in small groups (one male and two/four females).

• Color: Black, Yellow and White
• Environment: Space for a swim — as they are solitary animals
• Temperature: 23–27 °C (73.4–80.6 °F)
• Tank Size: 125-gallon tank
• Temperament (Nature): Very Peaceful
• Food and Diet: Carnivorous–small meaty frozen foods, herbivore foods, and marine algae
• Lifespan: 4–8 years

Care Guide

It’s highly suggested that only experienced aquarists should keep this fish in an aquarium. As it requires at least a 125 gallon tank, and there are very limited achievements in breeding these fish in saltwater aquariums.

18. Lyretail Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis)

Lyretail Anthias is a beautiful butterfly of marine life and has the brightest colors red, purple, yellow and orange.

If you want to keep your marine tank filled with peaceful species, you should consider adopting a similar environment as a sea, which includes a nice combination of an open swimming room with a place for shelter. Also, ensure to keep the light intensity low for Lyretail Anthias.

Males grow up to 6 inches, while females are slightly smaller.

• Color: Reddish body color with purple hue (Males) | Yellow-orangish body with an orange line (Females)
• Environment: Prefers open area with live rocks & shelter area
• Temperature: 22–29 °C (70–75 °F)
• Tank Size: 125–150 gallons tank
• Temperament (Nature): Aggressive and violent
• Food and Diet: Carnivore–it is best to feed a variety of meaty food
• Lifespan: 5–6 years

Care Guide

Lyretail Anthias are not the most difficult marine species to manage. That’s why the aquatic community is considered the best pick for colorful saltwater fish for beginners. Just need to ensure these tank requirements space, water levels, feeding and breeding.

19. Mandarin Dragonet (Synchiropus splendidus)

Chalk Bass — saltwater fish enthusiast explains that this hardy, beautiful, and likable fish deserves more appreciation in the hobby. The entire body is orange, with a purple center. These fish are highlighted by electric blue vertical bands that add to their appeal.

It grows up to 3 inches in length and prefers to swim in loose groups of up to 300 fish in the ocean. Once you get familiar with this fish, you can start adding tank mates like Clownfish, Gobies, and Damselfish.

• Color: Orange and Purple
• Environment: Plenty of space for live rock for the gobies to feed from
• Temperature: 23–27 °C (72–78 °F)
• Tank Size: 30 gallons tank
• Temperament (Nature): Semi-Aggressive
• Food and Diet: Carnivorous–include chopped meaty items, vitamin-enriched brine and mysis shrimp and flake foods.
• Lifespan: 1–2 years

Care Guide

Chalk Bass is an excellent option for beginner aquarists because they require relatively low maintenance. All you have to do is make sure that you follow maintenance tips.

20. Tomini Tang (Ctenochaetus tominiensis)

Tomini Tang is often called Tomini Surgeonfish and belongs to the genus Ctenochaetus. It is not a rare species of tang and is favored by aquarists because even adults are small in size.

This pet fish is generally very calm in nature and prefers to stay to itself. While setting up your saltwater aquarium, ensure that the Tomini Tang is the last fish you introduce to the tank.

It is a speedy little fish of 6 inches in size that swims around the larger tank of 120 gallons — so ensure to provide space in your tank!

• Color: Brown body with Yellow, Blue, and White highlights
• Environment: Fits perfectly into a reef environment
• Temperature: 22.2–25.6 °C (72–78 °F)
• Tank Size: 70 gallon tank
• Temperament (Nature): Semi-aggressive and Peaceful
• Food and Diet: Omnivores–feed with meaty foods, plant-based food and algae for the best health
• Lifespan: 5 years

Care Guide

This fish care level is from easy to moderate; only make sure to follow all the key requirements for the maintenance of saltwater tanks.

6 Quick Tips for Maintaining Colorful Saltwater Fish

Let’s check out the 6 tips to maintain saltwater fish:

1. Maintain stable water parameters
2. Use quality filtration
3. Perform regular water changes
4. Provide a balanced diet
5. Ensure appropriate lighting
6. Minimize stress for colourful saltwater fish

Final Thoughts (H2)

We’ve listed 20 colorful saltwater fish, but there are many more to consider. Each species differs in terms of habitation requirements, diet, behavior, and more, so learn as much detail as possible about your favorite species before you get them.

However, saltwater tanks require more maintenance than freshwater tanks, so you need to be careful when choosing fish.