75+ Popular Fish That Start with Y   

It’s going to surprise you just how many fish around the world have names that start with the letter “Y”.

Hundreds and hundreds of species of fish all over the world have names that begin with this letter, the second to last letter in the alphabet – but (obviously) a very popular letter for researchers and scientists to start fish names with.

Let’s jump right in and learn more on popular fish that start with Y

Popular Fish Names That Start with Y

Also see similar posts:

• Popular Fish That Start With W
• Popular fish that start with Z
• Popular Fish That Start With X
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1. Yellowtail Snapper

A hugely abundant species of snapper, generally found in the western parts of the Atlantic Ocean (especially in the Gulf of Mexico), these fish are so active that they’ve even been found in his far-flung locales as Massachusetts in the north and Brazil in the South.

A wonderful game fish beloved by sport anglers, this fish is also really appreciated by aquarium keepers because of its unique look, friendly disposition, and generally pretty simple and straightforward care needs.

2. Yellowfin Grouper

Yellowfin grouper are pretty decent sized fish, though they aren’t quite as large as some of the other types of grouper that can be found around the world.

These fish love to swim in the warmer waters of the Western Atlantic Ocean and have a more compressed and compact shape than other grouper, too.

In fact, it’s not at all unusual for the length of these fish to be two or three times the depth of these fish – giving them a sort of rounded to parents.

They’ll grow to be about 30 inches long (sometimes longer) on average and weight close to 41 pounds – all things that somewhat limit their commercial fishing potential.

Sport anglers do go out into the Atlantic Ocean to haul these grouper in, though. They put up a halfway decent fight and can be pretty amazing trophies. The trouble, though, is that some of these fish carry a dangerous toxin and that makes them even less attractive as a “food fish” for sure.

3. Yellowedge Moray

Yellow edge moray (sometimes called a leopard moray) will almost exclusively be found in the Indo Pacific oceans and at depths low enough that casual and commercial fishers are almost never going to come across them.

We are talking about depths of around 500 feet deep and sometimes considerably deeper than that.

Super long, slender fish with big, bulbous heads and tails that taper as they go along, these fish have a single row of pointed teeth that help them to grab their prey and consume it.

These fish can grow to be 30 inches long on average, but it isn’t all that unusual or that odd to find yellow edge moray that grow to be 90 inches long or longer, too.

The good news about these spooky looking fish is that if you did somehow come across them in the deep you wouldn’t have to worry about too many of them surrounding you.

These fish are solitary individuals that like their independence, like to move around at night, and are often going to hide or burrow into the ocean floor when they get spooked.

4. Yellow-Eye Mullet

One of the most popular commercial fish on the planet, yellow-eyed mullet are a huge part of the international caviar industry.

Mullet eggs are beloved for their flavor, particularly in Australia (where these fish are typically found) as well as all around the world.

Every year these fish go to lay their eggs between the months of December and March, and every year commercial operators go in and retrieve as many of these eggs as they can.

On the surface that might seem like a surefire plan for destroying the yellow eye mullet population, until you realize that a single female can release north of 700,000 eggs – and that these fish can live to be seven years old (or older).

Aside from human beings, though, these fish also have to worry about getting munched on by dolphins and or because – marine animals that absolutely love to snack on yellow-eyed mullet as much as they are able to!

5. Yellowtail Barracuda

A small species of barracuda, yellowtail barracuda are (typically) going to be found in the Indo West Pacific oceans. More recently, though, these fish have been found in the Mediterranean as well as in the Suez Canal – and their numbers in these regions continue to grow year after year.

One of the most interesting things about these barracuda is that they are going to group up in large schools during the day, often in lagoons as well as in the inner reef slopes where they have a little bit of protection.

At night, though, these fish often go out on the prowl and use their powerful (not to mention large) jaws to grab dinner and consume it quickly.

As mentioned a moment ago, these barracuda are on the smaller side of things. They generally only grow to be about 24 inches in length, but it’s not odd to find barracuda of this species that are even smaller (between 14 inches and 16 inches long).

6. Yellow Perch

Yellow perch are sometimes called striped perch or American perch, or even “preacher fish”, and were not officially discovered until 1814.

That was the year an angler and naturalist named Samuel Mitchill from New York gave this fish its name, recognizing that it was a close genetic cousin to the European perch.

These fish are typically medium-sized fish as far as freshwater North American varieties are concerned. The world record (caught in 1865 in New Jersey, the longest standing record for a freshwater fish in the US, in fact) only measured in at 18 inches long and 4 lbs. 3 oz. heavy.

Believe it or not, that’s a pretty big fish for this species as adults are usually only going to be about 5 inches long or so.

7. Yellow Bass

Yellow Bass are primarily found in the Mississippi River, down from Minnesota all the way to Louisiana – but they can also be found in the Trinity River as well as the Tennessee River, too.

These bass are distinct from other bass in this fish family, in that they have a yellow kind of color (no surprise there) but also large offset lateral stripes above their fins – as well as no “tooth patch” on the tongue.

Interestingly enough, though, these fish aren’t super popular as a game or sport fish the way that other bass across the United States are. Anglers almost catch these fish on accident and are generally pretty unimpressed when they do – as they are usually going after crappie or other fish and sort of accidentally land these instead.

The world record yellow bass is a puny little fish (especially compared to the monster largemouth bass that are caught in tournaments all the time), weighing in at just 2 lbs. 15 oz.

8. Yellowfin Tuna

Yellowfin tuna can go by the name “ahi” and is absolutely beloved as one of the most delicious fish in the ocean today.

A gigantic species of fish (even amongst fellow tuna), yellowfin can get to be 400 pounds or larger – though some tuna getting even closer to 600, 700, or even 800 pounds. This is a big fish family in more than one way!

Commercial fishing operations love yellowfin tuna, with more than half a million metric tons of this species of fish caught in 2010 alone.

Major initiatives in the commercial fishing world have been put forward over the last 30 years or so, though, to curb the use of net fishing that was inadvertently catching a lot of dolphins alongside yellowfins.

9. Yellowfin Croaker

Yellowfin croakers call the waters of the Gulf of California their home and are generally going to be found near beaches during the summer weather – though they do push out into deeper water when winter rolls around.

Looking a bit like a cross between a trout and a bass, these fish are frequently caught by folks that surf fish – especially those that are using sand crabs, mussels, and clams as bait.

10. Yellowfin Pike

The yellowfin pike is the only species of its genus and family. A super elongated fish with a razor-sharp and pointed snout, this bike looks a lot like a barracuda – and can grow almost as long as a barracuda, too.

Leveraging a length of about 33 inches, these fish love to swim off the coastal waters of Australia (particularly in the New South Wales region) and can be found at depths as shallow as 16 feet or as deep as 215 feet.

65 More Popular Fish That Start with Y  

1. Yellow-Spotted Grayling

2. Yangmabi Butterbarbel

3. Yarrell’s Blenny

4. Yellowhead Jawfish

5. Yellowmargin Triggerfish

6. Yellow-Belly Bream

7. Yellowfin Croaker

8. Yellow-Prawn Goby

9. Yellow Acara

10. Yellow Jack

11. Yellow Perch

12. Yellowtail Clownfish

13. Yaoshanicus Kyphus

14. Yellow Pigmy Brotula

15. Yellow Soldierfish

16. Yellowtail Barracuda

17. Yellow Triplefin

18. Yellow Fin Mojarra

19. Yellow Garden Eel

20. Yellow Razorfish

21. Yellow Meeki

22. Yasuhikotakia Caudipunctata

23. Yellow-Spotted Cat Shark

24. Yellow-Axil Chromis

25. Yellow-Striped Squirrelfish

26. Yellow-Eye Mullet

27. Yellowback Fusilier

28. Yellowback Seabream

29. Yazoo Shiner

30. Yellow-Eyed Comb-Tooth

31. Yellow Dartfish

32. Yellowtail Kingfish

33. Yaldwyn’s Triplefin

34. Yellow-Threaded Goatfish

35. Yellow Pygmy-Goby

36. Yellow-Tipped Squirrelfish

37. Yellow Swordtail

38. Yellow Weaver

39. Yellow-Lined Grunter

40. Yellow-Mouth Eel

41. Yellow Finned Medaka

42. Yawning Stardrum

43. Yazoo Darter

44. Yellow-Barred Shrimp-Goby

45. Yellow-Band Cardinalfish

46. Yangtse Grenadier Anchovy

47. Yellow-Eyed Toadfish

48. Yellowbanded Perch

49. Yellow Barb

50. Yarrella Argenteola

51. Yellow Teardrop Butterflyfish

52. Yellow Belly Cichlid

53. Yellow-Green Goby

54. Yellow-Lip Threadfin Bream

55. Yellow And Blueback Fusilier

56. Yellow Tilefish

57. Yellow-Edged Moray

58. Yellow-Eye Combtooth-Blenny

59. Yellow-Mouth Pikeblenny

60. Yellow-Speckled Chromis

61. Yellow-And-Black Triplefin

62. Yarra Pygmy Perch

63. Yellow-Belly Damsel

64. Yellow-Spotted Snake-Eel

65. Yasin Triplophysa-Loach