Yellowtail tang

The yellowtail tang (Zebrasoma xanthurum) is one of the most photogenic fish you can meet around Hurghada: its whole body is a deep violet-purple, dusted up close with a pattern of tiny dark spots, while the tail fin is a glowing lemon yellow – a contrast so strong it almost lights up in the blue water. As a member of the genus Zebrasoma it has a tall, disc-shaped body and a slightly extended snout, with the surgeonfish family's small sharp spine tucked at the base of its tail.

It is a peaceful algae grazer: it cruises among the corals by day, picking the algal film off rocks and dead coral surfaces with its small mouth – important work, because it keeps those surfaces clean for newly settling corals. Sometimes solitary, sometimes in loose groups of a few fish, it takes territory far less seriously than its bigger cousin the sohal.

It lives in the Red Sea and adjacent western Indian Ocean waters, and it is very common on Hurghada's reefs: it turns up on almost every dive in the coral garden of Gota Abu Ramada, around the pinnacles of El Aruk or on the Giftun plateaus. It is happy in the shallows too, so it is easy to spot while snorkeling – that flash of purple and yellow is unmistakable.