Blackback butterflyfish

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Blackback butterflyfish

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Chaetodontidae
Genus: Chaetodon
Species: C. melannotus
Binomial name
Chaetodon melannotus
Bloch & Schneider, 1801

The blackback butterflyfish or blackbacked butterflyfish, Chaetodon melannotus is a member of the family Chaetodontidae.

Contents

[edit] Range

Red Sea and East Africa to Samoa, to southern Japan and throughout Micronesia.[1][2]

[edit] Description

The blackback butterflyfish grows up to 18cm long, and may live for up to 20 years. They are oviparous, forming pairs during breeding. When observed at night, or when frightened, this species changes color; The dorsal portion of the body turns black except for two white patches.

[edit] Diet

It feeds primarily on the polyps of soft and hard corals.[2]

[edit] Habitat

Common on staghorn coral thickets, less seen on exposed parts of reefs.[2]. They are generally found between 4 and 20m depth, usually solitary or in pairs. Juveniles are more commonly found inshore, In pairs or traveling in small groups.[1]

[edit] In the aquarium

The blackback butterflyfish is easy to maintain in the aquarium.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c "Chaetodon melannotus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. 7 2007 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c Lieske, E. and Myers, R.F. (2004) Coral reef guide; Red Sea London, HarperCollins ISBN 0-00-715986-2
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