Coral reef ecosystems show fluctuations in their prevailing light environment and previous research has demonstrated that coral reef fish can adjust their visual system to meet the changing environment they experience. Here, we investigate the shift in the overall light environment that occurs seasonally amongst coral reefs. The light environment on the reefs shifts from a broad-spectrum clear body of water during winter to a more red-shifted algal-dominated habitat in summer. We explored whether coral reef fish can track these seasonal changes to the light environment by altering the expression pattern of their retinal genes - including the visual opsin genes. Across the two coral reef fish families, Pomacentridae (damselfishes) and Acanthuridae (surgeonfishes), two spectral shifts in opsin gene expression occurred in some species. Some damselfish expressed their blue-sensitive opsin (RH2B) more during winter than their green-sensitive opsin (RH2A), whilst others shifted from between their two ultraviolet-sensitive (SWS1) copies. Our results show that many damselfish are plastic in their opsin expression, while surgeonfish appear to be less so. These findings are likely due to damselfish being site-attached, whereas the light environment for surgeonfish is constantly changing, causing their opsin expression patterns to likely be less plastic.