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The spinecheek is a sleek, silver fish with a darker, spotted upper body. From its face, extending to its dorsal and caudal fins, are several pearly white stripes with blue iridescence.Paleband spinecheeks inhabit shallow, sandy-bottomed waters near coral reefs. They are common along the East African coast, ranging from the Red Sea and Persian Gulf to South Africa.They have good eyesight and are proficient predators, feeding on crustaceans, sea stars and smaller fish. Their habit of swimming rapidly, then coming a sudden stop before moving off again enables them to better survey their surroundings.Their scientific name, Scolopsis ghanam, means "looks like a worm from Ghana". This is a misnomer, as the monocle bream is not found in Ghanaian waters.

Redbarred cardinals are small, silver fish with fine orange bars running vertically on their sides. They have large, black eyes and black spots or bar on their peduncles.Their scientific name Taeniamia fucata literally means "ribbon fish that is iridescent", and it taken from both Latin and Greek.They inhabit rocky and coral reefs in calm waters, typically near lagoons or mangroves. They form large congregations that shelter in caves and under ledges, coming out at night to hunt small invertebrates.Although forming large groups, redbarred cardinals are solitary fish that only temporarily form pairs for courtship and spawning. They are mouthbrooders, and both males and females carry their eggs in their mouths until they hatch.Redbarred cardinals are common around reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific, ranging from Samoa to South Africa.

Crown squirrelfish are bright red, with many silver stripes running horizontally across their bodies. They have pronounced spines in their fins and gill covers that they can raise if threatened. They are found in coral reefs, lagoons and rocky reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific, where they hide in caves. At night they use their red colour as camouflage in the darkness to hunt for zooplankton.

The ring-tailed cardinal is a small, yellow-copper fish with a large eye outlined by two vivid blue stripes which cross its face horizontally. It has a dark band around its peduncle. They form small schools near to coral and rock outcrops, often sharing dark hiding spots. When courtship occurs, ring-tail cardinals form pairs. They are mouthbrooders, with the male carrying the fertilized eggs in its mouth until they hatch. Although small, they are proficient predators, using caves to hide during the day and hunting under the cover of darkness. Ring-tail cardinals are a widespread species, ranging from South Africa and the East African coast to Japan and Australia.

This cardinal is a small fish, characterized by four dark horizontal stripes on each side and a dark stripe along its dorsal surface. It has proportionately large eyes and mouth.Although solitary, striped cardinalfish temporarily form pairs during courtship. They are mouth-brooders – once fertilized, the male cardinal will carry the eggs in his mouth until they hatch.Striped cardinalfish are nocturnal, hiding in potholes on portions of reefs that are exposed to surge during the day. At night they scavenge and hunt small invertebrates.They inhabit coral reefs in the Indian Ocean, particularly the Red Sea and Sodwana Bay, with smaller populations on the Japanese and Australian coasts.

The blotcheye soldier is a small, vividly red fish with large eyes, black gill covers and white edges on its fins. It also has small black spines on its gill covers.It is a nocturnal predator, and can be found hiding in caves and under ledges during the day. At night, its red colouration serves as camouflage in open water and it uses this element of surprise to hunt small crustaceans, zooplankton and fish.Blotcheye soldiers are found around coral reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific, particularly on the African east coast.

The nosestripe clownfish is a small, oblong fish with a pale pinkish-orange colour. It has a single white stripe running along its back, from snout to tail.Nosestripe clownfish live in shallow reefs on the East African coast, Java and Thailand. They are immune to the sting of large anemones, and they will take shelter among anemone tentacles. Their preferred hosts are the magnificent anemone (Heteractis magnifica) and the Merten's carpet anemone (Stichodactyla mertensii).They are territorial and will defend their anemone from intruders - be they different species, or nosestripe clownfish from a different group. The female, which is the largest clownfish in the group, takes the lead in this defensive behaviour, responding to intruders by charging them and by making a series of loud noises.Nosestripe clownfish have three sounds in their vocal repertoire, a "pop, "short chirp" and "long chirp", and they use different combinations of these sounds depending on what species they are trying to ward off or how long the encounter lasts.Nosestripe clownfish are protandrous hermaphrodites. All are hatched male, and when occupying an anemone the largest one will changes sexes. If the female is removed or dies, the next largest male with change sexes and take her place.

Birdmouth wrasses are small, elongated fish that display strong sexual dimorphism (males and females look different). Males are vivid blue-green with yellowed fins. Their snouts grow disproportionately long, often with bulbous protrusions. Females are significantly smaller, with comparatively drab colouration. They are yellow-brown with white underparts. Their snouts are also elongated, but more slender than the male’s. Birdmouth wrasses use their elongated snouts, which have small mouths on the end, to prey on small invertebrates in cracks and crevices. They are abundant around Indian Ocean reefs, particularly on the African coast.

This is a large, round urchin with medium length spines that can reach about half its diameter in length. Its body is black, and its spines are purple with a metallic sheen, rarely greenish at the tips. They are easily distinguished from similar species, eg. Needle urchins, by the presence of 5 grey zig-zagging sutures on their upper surface. Multiple generations of pot-hole urchin slowly excavate caves for themselves – hence their name. This multi-generational behaviour has resulted in pot-hole urchins having a patch distribution, occurring in huge numbers where they have been able to dig these excavations, eg. The Philippines and Sri Lanka, but rarer in other parts of the Indo-Pacific. They emerge from these hiding spots at night to catch scraps of floating algae.

Short-spined urchins are large, well-rounded sea urchins, completely covered in short, white spines. Long tube-feet extend well beyond their spines.They inhabit beds of seaweed, where they use their tiny tube-feet to camouflage themselves by holding straps of seaweed, rocks or other debris over their bodies (as pictured). This behaviour gives them their international name of “collector urchin”.Short-spined urchins are opportunistic feeders, and feed voraciously on algae, seagrass and bacterial mats. Their behaviour is unaffected by the day-night cycle, and this is unusual amongst urchin species. This unusual behaviour has made short-spined urchins useful for rehabilitating coral reefs which have been infested by alien seaweed species.These urchins are nutritious and edible – regularly preyed upon by humans, octopuses and puffer fish.

The Cape knifejaw is a dark, oval shaped fish that can grow to almost a meter in length. Their colouration is generally a dark grey, with lighter coloured mouths and underparts. Juvenile Cape knifejaws are bright yellow, with black, vertical bands over their eye and in front of their tail. The knifejaw’s teeth are fused to form a beak-like structure. They are omnivores and feed on a variety of food sources around near-shore reefs. Their beak is used to break up sea squirts, sponges and red algae. Cape knifejaws become territorial when they mature and form pairs that hunt together. The Cape knifejaw is endemic to South Africa, ranging from False Bay to Thukela. Cape knifejaws are on the SASSI Red list.