A 6-Stage Beginner's Guide to Marine Fish Identification – Recommended Reading List & Study Methods

The Editor says: More and more people are taking up scuba diving these days, underwater camera in hand, snapping photo after photo of beautiful marine life — only to surface and tell their friends, "I just saw that fish," "There was this huge fish inside the cave," or "You know, the red-and-green one with the round head." For those of us who truly want to understand the ocean, that's a real shame. Fortunately, Master Ding, Coach Ding Fengjun shared a marine fish identification reading list and study guide on his Facebook page, walking us through a six-stage learning journey that will take you step by step toward becoming a true master of ocean Pokémon! The full text is reprinted below, with credit to the original source: Coach Ding Fengjun's personal Facebook

Fish Identification – How to Read Your Way Through:

Start by getting to know the fish commonly seen near your local dive shop or at the dive sites you frequent. Personally, I went through almost every fish in the Maldives field guide within two years. Regional field guides cover a smaller area, which makes them much easier to look things up in and use for identification.
Keep in mind, though, that field guides may only list photos of adult fish. You'll still occasionally encounter juvenile fish that don't appear in the guide — for example, juveniles of grunt species, angelfish, or boxfish — so it's worth exploring juvenile fish guides as well.

Once you're fairly familiar with the fish at your regular dive sites, you can move on to broader regional fish field guides. The series published by FishID in the United States is excellent and widely purchased by dive shops across Southeast Asia — their Indo-Pacific coral reef fish guide is a staple that many shops keep on hand for guests to browse.

Although both the US West Coast and Mexico are on the Pacific, the US West Coast isn't coral reef territory. Meanwhile, the coral reef fish species along Mexico's western coast fall within the Eastern Pacific region, since West Pacific fish have no efficient dispersal route to reach there. As a result, the fish you see diving in Mexico's Socorro Islands will feel familiar — reminiscent of the Coral Triangle — yet not quite the same.

Once you're comfortable with fish taxonomy, you can start exploring fish behavior. As Confucius said, appetite and desire are human nature — and fish aren't so different. They're basically thinking about three things: What do I eat? How do I avoid being eaten? And how do I find a mate?! In other words: feeding behavior and reproductive behavior!

From there, you can transition into more advanced field guides and introductory ichthyology texts, such as Professor Shao Guangzhao's Introduction to Fish Observation, or the Shogakukan Japan Fish Encyclopedia — both are meticulously organized and richly illustrated.
If you later develop an interest in blackwater diving, you can go on to learn about the larval and juvenile fish stages, before they've settled into life on the coral reef.

Finally, if you're genuinely keen on reading professional academic texts on fish diversity, pick up The Diversity of Fishes: Biology, Evolution, and Ecology. For in-depth taxonomic study, refer to Fishes of the World, 5th edition.

Below is the recommended reading list for each stage: (Supplementary resources: aquarium interpretive signage and publications)

Stage 1: Adult Fish in a Small Regional Area

• Taiwan Coral Reef Fish Guide, authors: Shao Guangzhao, Shao Yida, Lin Peili
• Fishes of the Maldives: Indian Ocean, authors: Rudie H Kuiter, Tim Godfrey
• Field guides published by national parks are also excellent references — for example, the Kenting National Park Marine Fish Guide. Waterproof laminated snorkeling fish ID cards are another handy option.

Books.com.tw purchase link: Shop here

Stage 2: Juvenile and Sub-Adult Fish in a Small Regional Area

幼魚ハンドブック, author: Kobayashi Yasumasa
ベラ&ブダイ: 日本で見られる192種+幼魚、成魚、雌雄、婚姻色のバリエーション, author: Kato Shoichi

Stage 3: Adult Fish Across a Broad Regional Area

FishID field guide series:

• Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Fish Guide
• Baja California to Panama Coral Reef Fish Guide
• Florida, Caribbean & Bahamas Coral Reef Fish Guide
• Galápagos Coral Reef Fish Guide
• California to Alaska Coastal Fish Guide

• 改訂新版 海水魚 ひと目で特徴がわかる図解付き (ネイチャーウォッチングガイドブック), author: Kato Shoichi

Books.com.tw purchase link: Shop here

• スズメダイ (ネイチャーウォッチングガイドブック), author: Kato Shoichi
• 日本のハゼ―決定版, authors: Se-nō Hiroshi, Yano Yuki, Suzuki Toshiyuki, Shibukawa Koichi

Stage 4: Fish Behavior

• Reef Fish Behavior – Florida Caribbean Bahamas, 2nd Edition
• 魚たちの繁殖 ウォッチング: 求愛から産卵まで、その知られざる営み, author: Abe Hideki

Stage 5: A Systematic Introduction to Adult Fish

• Introduction to Fish Observation, author: Shao Guangzhao
• 小学館の図鑑 日本魚類館, author: Nakabo Tetsuji
• Ocean Encyclopaedia – Northern Taiwan & Ocean Encyclopaedia – Inshore Coral Reef, authors: Wox Lee & Spark Chao

Books.com.tw purchase link: Shop here

Books.com.tw purchase link: Shop here

Limited-time dual-author pre-order available until 30 November 2021: Shop here

Stage 6: Larval and Juvenile Fish

• 真夜中は稚魚の世界, author: Sakaue Jiro
• 美しい海の浮遊生物図鑑, authors: Wakabayashi Kaori (text), Tanaka Hiroshi (text), Abe Hideki (photography)
• 海のミクロ生物図鑑: チリメンモンスターの中に広がる世界, authors: Nishida Momoyo, supervised by Ida Hitoshi

Stage 7: Advanced Academic Texts

• Fishes of the World, authors: Joseph S. Nelson, Terry C. Grande, Mark V. H. Agoke Wilson
• The Diversity of Fishes: Biology, Evolution, and Ecology, authors: Gene Helfman, Bruce B. Collette, Douglas E. Facey, Brian W. Bowen

Cover photo courtesy of: Yang Zhima

Recommended reading purchase links:

• Taiwan Coral Reef Fish Guide – Shao Guangzhao, Shao Yida, Lin Peili
• Saltwater Fish & Marine Life Complete Encyclopedia – Kobayashi Yasumasa
• Saltwater Fish Field Guide – Kato Shoichi
• Introduction to Fish Observation – Shao Guangzhao, Chen Lishu
• Ocean Encyclopaedia – Northern Taiwan, by Wox Lee & Spark Chao
• Ocean Encyclopaedia – Inshore Coral Reef Pre-order
• Coach Ding's personal Facebook