Chromis analis
Bright yellow reef fish most often logged in the Visayas and Bali, hovering over reef slopes between 10 and 144 metres.
A small, oval-bodied damselfish that reads as solid, almost fluorescent yellow from tip to tail with no bold stripes or bars to break it up. It tops out around 11 cm, so in the water it looks like a bright yellow coin hanging just off the reef. The forked tail and slightly concave profile separate it from the rounder-bodied clownfish it sometimes gets mistaken for at a glance.
Divers typically spot it hovering in loose groups a metre or two above reef structure, picking plankton out of the water column rather than grazing the reef itself. It tends to stay close to coral cover and will dart back into crevices if approached too quickly, but otherwise ignores divers who keep a slow, steady pace. Look for it on slopes and drop-offs rather than sandy flats, often mixed in with other small reef fish going about the same business.
Like other chromis, it feeds by picking zooplankton straight out of open water above the reef, which is why you'll usually see it hovering rather than nosing around coral heads the way many damselfish do.
No clear seasonal pattern shows up in the data, and with a comfortable range of 23.4 to 28.4 C, it's the kind of fish you can reasonably expect on a tropical reef dive at any time of year in the Visayas or Bali.
Reef neighbours a diver could mistake it for. Use the identification notes above to tell them apart.
Most consistently logged in the Philippines, especially across the Visayas, which accounts for the bulk of sightings, with a smaller but reliable presence in Bali and Sulawesi in Indonesia. It also turns up in Sabah, Malaysia, though far less often. Across all these sites it's typically an uncommon find rather than a guaranteed one, so treat any sighting as a nice bonus on a reef dive rather than the main event.
Mapping where Yellow Chromis is logged…
It's most reliably seen across the Visayas in the Philippines, with additional sightings in Bali and Sulawesi in Indonesia and occasional records off Sabah, Malaysia. Even in these areas it's usually logged as uncommon, so it's a nice spot rather than a certainty.
There's no strong seasonal pattern in the sightings data, and its comfortable temperature range of roughly 23 to 28 C means it's present on tropical reefs year-round. Any time you're diving the Visayas or Bali gives you a reasonable shot at spotting it.
Look for a small, oval fish, around 11 cm, that's solid bright yellow all over with no distinct stripes or bars. It has a forked tail and usually hovers a short distance above the reef rather than sitting on it.
They're small reef fish, typically reaching around 11 cm in length, so don't expect anything larger than a small hand span when you spot one on the reef.
They're carnivores that feed on plankton drifting in the water column, which is why you'll usually see small groups hovering just above the reef rather than picking at coral or rubble.
Site and sighting data is aggregated from diver logs, iNaturalist and GBIF. For taxonomy and conservation status:
Yellowtail Clownfish
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