Divefree

Fish

Coral Rockcod

Cephalopholis miniata

A glowing orange-red reef grouper peppered with small blue spots, one of the more striking rockcod a diver will meet on coral.

Also known as koraal- klipkabeljou

Coral Rockcod
Photo: Derek Keats · CC BY 4.0
Typical size
Attains 40 cm
Habitat
Coral reef

The coral rockcod has head, body and median fins of a rich orange-red, covered with small blue spots that run onto the jaws and lips but stop short of the underside of the lower jaw. Small juveniles are golden with only a few blue spots. It reaches about 40 cm.

A true coral-reef fish, it ranges from the Red Sea south to Natal and east to the western Pacific, holding tight to reef structure.