Reposting the reasoning of the fish-bases for the merpeople here so I can delete freezerbrain.
Veronica is a parrotfish because they have pretty scales. I didnât go too deep with that one. Veronicaâs mother is also based on a parrotfish while her father is based on the napoleonfish.
JD is a moray eel (specifically a spotted color) because heâd be from somewhere else and evolution would be different wherever his family would be from. It also allows for the pointed teeth and distinctly odd swimming motions. Big Bud Dean would also be an eel, but an ugly one.
Chandler based on a bull shark because theyâre actually the most aggressive shark (though theyâre still relatively chill when nonthreatened or aggravated most of the time) and sheâd get pointy teeth. Thatâs cool.
McNamara could be a barracuda because itâs long and sleek but powerful, just like she is in the movie. Tall and slender but, as a cheerleader, muscular and, as a Heather, powerful.
Duke would be a lionfish because theyâre absolutely gorgeous but poisonous to the touch. While not inherently powerful creatures, they could be dangerous if they tried.
Betty Finn is a yellow tang because she was supposed to look like someone who can blend into other fish easily. It might be a bright fish, but all yellow tang look like that. She easily blends in with the other Betty Finn-like merpeople.
Martha is a clownfish for both the reason of the âclownfishâ jokes as well as the fact that the tailâs shape gives way to being easily made fun of because it has such a weird shape as far as tails to use for merpeople. It would go into a body shape that has to be buff to be socially accepted as pretty.
Ram is a sea bass. Because heâs a stereotypical terrible jock and there are millions of him out there in the sea. Kurt is a clown triggerfish because the shape is really good for the shape of someone who works out a lot, a jock.
David, the college guy Chandler dates, is a mandarinfish because theyâre pretty but otherwise not much really special about them. Theyâre good to have around you for power moves but thatâs about it.
Flemming would be a pufferfish because she puffs herself up to be bigger than she is. And, as @thefrostedglass said it on discord, sheâs a teacher who you arenât supposed to immediately realize is ugly. While neither pufferfish nor Flemming are ugly, they both arenât quite what you would expect from a fish/teacher.
