# Help identifying a fish
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-fish/414219
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 3, 2007, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-fish/414219 "2007-08-03T00:50:22Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2007, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-fish/414219/1 "2007-08-03T00:50:22Z")
I’m trying to identify a fish I once saw when I was little boy in my favorite encyclopedia volume. Unfortunately I don’t recall what letter it was for 🙂 I also don’t remeber that much about the fish except that it was stunning in it’s size. It looked like a gold fish, only pale white and stubbier, and huge!
In the picture there was a man swimming next to it and the fish was so large, I imagined it could have easily bitten off his head, or perhaps even swallow the man whole. I also recall that the lips were very pouty and human like. There might or might have not been a reference to Africa.
Does anyone have any clue as to what I might be talking about?
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### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2007, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-fish/414219/2 "2007-08-03T01:02:13Z")
[QUOTE=Kinthalis]
I’m trying to identify a fish I once saw when I was little boy in my favorite encyclopedia volume. Unfortunately I don’t recall what letter it was for 🙂 I also don’t remeber that much about the fish except that it was stunning in it’s size. It looked like a gold fish, only pale white and stubbier, and huge!
In the picture there was a man swimming next to it and the fish was so large, I imagined it could have easily bitten off his head, or perhaps even swallow the man whole. I also recall that the lips were very pouty and human like. There might or might have not been a reference to Africa.
Does anyone have any clue as to what I might be talking about?
[/QUOTE]
An Ocean Sunfish? [Ocean sunfish - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_sunfish)
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2007, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-fish/414219/3 "2007-08-03T01:17:51Z")
A [colecanth?](http://www.mnh.si.edu/highlight/coelacanth/images/image_2_lg.jpg)
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### Author:  [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2007, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-fish/414219/4 "2007-08-03T01:34:37Z")
Carp,[perhaps](http://www.naturephoto-cz.com/photos/others/carp-20524.jpg) That photo is of a drab one, but there are white varieties.And, can attain great size , plus are well-known in captivity. Can you recall if it’s a freshwater fish or a saltwater one?
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### Author:  [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2007, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-fish/414219/5 "2007-08-03T01:54:23Z")
Carp are more like goldfish, and the likelihood of finding a photo of someone swimming next to a big one way more likely. But, to contrast with another, bigger, saltwater trophy fish,there’s the Tarpon, which can be [Huge, scroll down a bit to see an immense one](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.igfa.org/newsreleases/images/tarpon_apr_2006.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.igfa.org/News.asp%3Fqs%3D161&h=290&w=225&sz=48&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=X04XqPfHs5MPsM:&tbnh=115&tbnw=89&prev=/images%3Fq%3Drecord%2Btarpon%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG)
ANy of this match with your remembrance?
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### Author:  [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2007, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-fish/414219/6 "2007-08-03T02:18:18Z")
[QUOTE=Kinthalis]
it looked like a gold fish, only pale white and stubbier, and huge!
In the picture there was a man swimming next to it and the fish was so large, I imagined it could have easily bitten off his head, or perhaps even swallow the man whole. I also recall that the lips were very pouty and human like.
[/QUOTE]
A white [Grouper](http://www.kathyschmidt.com/images/gallery/grouper.JPG)? There’s [quite a few varieties](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grouper), some of which are goldfish-like.
They can get [big enough to bite off a head](http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&c2coff=1&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=grouper&btnG=Search+Images)
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### Author:  [@SailedTheOceanBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SailedTheOceanBlue)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2007, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-fish/414219/7 "2007-08-03T03:19:45Z")
I vote for [Ocean Sunfish](http://www.tnaqua.org/Newsroom/Images/molamola.jpg) too. They’re freaky and white and huge.
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### Author:  [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2007, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-fish/414219/8 "2007-08-03T10:56:39Z")
It definitely had to be a sun fish! Wow those suckers are huge. Thanks everyone!
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### Author:  [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-fish/414219/9 "2007-08-03T17:26:30Z")
How about a Napoleon Wrasse ?
[http://www.timsaxon.co.uk/wally.html](http://www.timsaxon.co.uk/wally.html)
[http://www.divetheworldmalaysia.com/sipadan-island-history.htm](http://www.divetheworldmalaysia.com/sipadan-island-history.htm)
[http://www.divetrip.com/phot0508e.htm](http://www.divetrip.com/phot0508e.htm)
[ ](http://www.deiopea.ch/images/fullsize/redsea/napoleon_wrasse_-_cheilinus_undulatus_-_napoleon_lippfisch_00.jpg)
This is a small to middling sized one
[http://www.guensberg.nl/blog/uploaded\_images/napoleon-maori-wrasse-small-770350.JPG](http://www.guensberg.nl/blog/uploaded_images/napoleon-maori-wrasse-small-770350.JPG)
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### Author:  [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2007, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-fish/414219/10 "2007-08-03T17:48:32Z")
Hmm, Napoleon Wrasse definitely has the big pouty lips like I remember, more so that the sun fish. Do they come in a whitish color?
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### Author:  [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-fish/414219/11 "2007-08-03T17:59:33Z")
That fish? That was Steve. I remember him well. Quite tall, walked with a limp. Used to play croquet.
You need help identifying any other fish, just ask. 😉
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### Author:  [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2007, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-fish/414219/12 "2007-08-03T19:05:51Z")
There are many differant varieties of Wrasse one very lare one is all black, others are incredibly bright blue and yellow stripes, seems to me there just has to be room for a light coloured fish.
I’ve seen pictures of one that eats coral with big pouty lips, but I don’t know what type, it was, probably a parrotfish.
> **[error404](https://www.wwf.org.hk/404error/)**
>
> error404
You could also be looking for some sort of gouper,
> **[Kermadec Islands - giant groupers](http://www.seafriends.org.nz/issues/res/kermadec/g2groupr.htm)**
>
> The giant groupers of the Kermadec Islands
[http://www.wildblue.co.nz/images/Queensland%20grouper.JPG](http://www.wildblue.co.nz/images/Queensland%20grouper.JPG)
I feel saddened that the Goliath Grouper which is seen as being critically endangered has so many images across the net of wannabee big men who have caught and killed them in their holiday pictures, humans can really suck hard.
Here is a one example,
[http://www.magichook.com/Golaith\_Grouper.htm](http://www.magichook.com/Golaith_Grouper.htm)
One of the biggest crimes in the world is ignorance, couple that with selfishness and you have to wonder about the fate of our kind.
The Napoleon Wrasse is also becoming endangered and may be in an even worse positions since they take a long time to reporduce, the picture may well be not as obvious, but somehow the fish seems to be popular fodder among the Japanese side of the Pacific.
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### Author:  [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2007, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-fish/414219/13 "2007-08-03T20:46:17Z")
That first pic of the Wrasse is the spitting image! It’s like I’m opening that book again. Thanks so much for the help.
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### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2007, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-a-fish/414219/14 "2007-08-03T20:51:54Z")
[QUOTE=Kinthalis]
That first pic of the Wrasse is the spitting image! It’s like I’m opening that book again. Thanks so much for the help.
[/QUOTE]
I don’t think that fish is very big - it’s just in front of the diver…