Centroberyx affinis
Reddish-pink schooling fish logged around New Zealand's North Island in cool 14-20C water, usually spotted alone or in small uncommon groups.
Look for a deep-bodied, laterally compressed fish about 36 cm long with a reddish-pink to salmon-coloured body and noticeably large, dark eyes suited to low light. The dorsal fin carries a spiny front section, and the overall shape is chunky rather than streamlined, with a blunt head profile. There's no strong sexual or juvenile colour difference reported, so size and that pink-red hue are your main cues.
Divers typically find nannygai hanging near reef structure or rocky ledges rather than out in the open, often sitting fairly still or moving slowly along the bottom contours. It's logged as uncommon at nearly all sites it turns up, so expect a single fish or a small handful rather than a big shoal, with one North Island site standing out where it's reported as common. Its large eyes hint at low-light habits, so quieter, shaded parts of the reef are worth a closer look.
Those oversized eyes are a giveaway that nannygai lean towards dim-light or deeper-water living, a common adaptation in the berycid family it belongs to.
There isn't enough seasonal data to call a specific window, so treat it as a year-round possibility. Observed water temperatures range from a cool 14.1 to 20.5C, consistent with New Zealand's temperate reefs holding fish through most of the year rather than a narrow warm-season peak.
Nannygai sightings in the data come entirely from New Zealand, concentrated on the North Island, making it a North Island speciality rather than a fish you'll stumble on elsewhere. Divers exploring reef and rocky-reef sites around the North Island have the best odds, though even there it's logged as uncommon at most spots.
Mapping where Nannygai is logged…
All logged sightings come from New Zealand, with the North Island the clear hotspot. Look for it around rocky reef sites there rather than expecting it on tropical reefs elsewhere.
There's no detected seasonal pattern, so it's considered a year-round sighting. Water temperatures where it's been observed range from a cool 14.1C to 20.5C, typical of North Island conditions across most of the year.
Look for a deep, laterally flattened body around 36 cm long, a reddish-pink colour, and unusually large dark eyes. It tends to sit near reef structure rather than swimming in open water.
They typically reach about 36 cm in length, a solid mid-sized reef fish rather than a giant.
Mostly uncommon. At the vast majority of sites where it's been logged divers report it as an occasional sighting, with only one site noting it as a common find.
Site and sighting data is aggregated from diver logs, iNaturalist and GBIF. For taxonomy and conservation status:
Soldierfish
3,621 sites
