Juvenile: hardly two inches long, light grey body with white dots, green head and orange eyes.

Intermediate (can be male or female): Brown to white head, yellow "eyelids" black-rimmed grey-ish and white-ish scales upper body, bright red belly and fins, tail fin end included.

Terminal (adult and male only): Overall bright turquoise with lilac to red-rimmed scales, turquoise bordered lilac dorsal and anal fins characteristic bright yellow or orange patch on tail root, similarly coloured crescent on inner portion of tail fin, large lilac blotch on "forehead", lilac line from mouth crack backwards, bright yellow spot on upper gill lid follwed by lilac-pink vertical lines on gill edge.

As some of the pictures below show, the Stoplight Parrotfish tends to adopt subdued colours at night while sleeping, Older specimens tend to boast paler colours,