Fish Species

Our guide to the fish in the sea at Pefkos

Pefkos Fish Species

When you're snorkelling here have you ever wondered what the different types of Greek fish you can see are called?

We've put together a brief guide to the fish species we commonly see here. Some you'll see just about any day you put your snorkel on, others are not so common so look out for them.

These are all fish that live fairly close to the shore along the coast of Rhodes (Rodos), Greece. All the pictures here were taken whilst snorkelling within 20 metres of the Main (Lee) Beach, and further along at Kavos Beach.
Damsel Fish

Mediteranean Damsel Fish

The Mediterranean Damselfish (Chromis chromis) is the small black fish you'll see in large numbers anywhere around the Rhodes coastline.

One of the interesting things about this fish is it's unusual courtship behaviour. The males become territorial and occupy a nest, which isn't that unusual. They also make courtship noises, which is pretty rare in the fish world!

Saddled Sea Bream

Saddled Sea Bream

Saddled Sea Bream - (Oblada melanura) has a elipse shaped silver body and can be easily identified by the distinctive large black spot with a white outer just before it's tail.

It can grow to 34cm, but near the beach here you'll find much younger fish, typically 10-15cm in length.

Salema Porgy

Salema Porgy

The Salema Porgy (Sarpa Salpa) is a silver fish with irridescent yellow stripes. When you catch these whilst angling, DO NOT be tempted to cook and eat them.

In Roman times this fish was used as a hallucinagenic recreational drug, and even recently there have been cases where people have mistakenly eaten them, and suffered terrifying hallucinations for days!

Ornate Wrasse

Ornate Wrasse

The most brightly coloured of all the fish found here is the Ornate Wrasse. It likes to stay within reach of a rock, and recognised by it's bright blue, green and turquoise colours.

Painted Comber

Painted Comber

The perch like Painted Comber (Serranus scriba) has dark vertical stripes, and a distinctive pale patch on it's abdomen. Not as common as the fish listed above, you'll find this likes depths of 6 feet of more, and is usually solitary. This one can be cooked and eaten and is said to be tasty!

Garfish

Garfish

The Garfish (Belone belone) is also known is the Sea Needle. It's more common to see these is pairs early in the holiday season, although we have seen them here in August. Very long and thin, we've seen these over 2 feet long within 15 metres of Lee Beach.

Common Two Banded Seabream

Common Two Banded Seabream

The Common Two Banded Seabream (Diplodus vulgaris) is a common sight here. You'll find the further out you swim, the bigger these get. Expect to see up to 4 inches near the shore, but when the water is clear, if you swim out to 3 times your height, you may see larger specimins grazing along the bottom.

Garfish

Attracting Fish - the Bread Trick

If you want see a good mix of fish, when you go snorkelling take a couple of slices of bread. Break in pieces and splash it into the water. Wait a minute and the water will be busy.......

If you liked this page you might like our snorkelling and beaches pages.

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