The Yellow-tailed Fusilier is native to reefs and coasts of the Indian and western Pacific Oceans. It is also called the Redbelly Yellow-tailed Fusilier to distinguish from the Blue-backed Yellowtail Fusilier, but the slightly pinkish belly is often difficult to see in the ocean.

A shoaling fish, it grows to 40cm long. Diet is zooplankton. The name "fusilier" for the genus (with Caesio meaning blue) is likely derived from the blue and gold helmets of the French fusiliers since the genus was proposed by a French naturalist and the type specimen is the Blue and Gold Fusilier, C. caerulaurea (cf. Soldier Beetles and Military Macaw, both in green and red "uniforms").

The Yellow and Blueback Fusilier, also called the Blueback Yellowtail and the Blue and Gold Fusilier, is native to the tropical Indian and western Pacific Oceans. It grows typically to 30cm and exceptionally to 40cm long. It swims in groups, often schooling with other fusiliers such as the Yellowback.