HomeMarine aquarium fishWrassesTricolour parrotfish Tricolour parrotfish (Scarus tricolor) Scientific name: Scarus tricolor Bleeker, 1847 The Tricolour parrotfish (Scarus tricolor) is a marine fish of the family Scaridae. BiologyDorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 9. Males differ slightly in head pattern and differences most obvious in females with yellow or red anal fins. Terminal phase similar to S. forsteni, differing primarily by having a yellow inner pectoral axil.Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0. Species factsScientific nameScarus tricolorFamilyScaridae (Parrotfishes)OrderPerciformes (Perch-like fish)ClassActinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)Maximum length26.6Common length17.5Depth range2–25 m (7–82 ft)EnvironmentMarine; reef-associated; depth range 2 - 25 mClimateTropicalDistributionIndo-Pacific: widespread in the Indian Ocean, ranging from East Africa south to Natal, South Africa and east to Madagascar, Seychelles, Mauritius, Chagos Archipelago, and Maldives through the eastern Indian Ocean to French Polynesia and Pitcairn. Replaced by Scarus forsteni in most of the Pacific, with overlapping distributions in the Philippines, eastern Indonesia and Palau. Recently reported from Tonga.Conservation status (IUCN)Least Concern (LC)Threat to humansHarmlessUsesFisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercialResilienceHigh, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.) More wrassesBlackspot tuskfishChoerodon schoenleiniiTarry hogfishBodianus bilunulatusJordan's tuskfishChoerodon jordaniCircle-cheek wrasseHalichoeres miniatusThree-lined rainbowfishStethojulis trilineataCutribbon wrasseStethojulis interruptaSee all wrasses SourcesTaxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.Last updated 27 September 2026