Dascyllus melanurus

Dascyllus melanurus, also known as Four Stripe Damselfish, Blacktail Dascyllus, Blacktail Damselfish, or Blacktail Humbug is a popular saltwater aquarium fish from the Indo-Pacific.

Appearance

A small marine fish that reaches four inches in length. It is typically white with four black, vertical stripes.

In the aquarium

Dascyllus melanurus is a hardy member of a saltwater aquarium. Because of this and its usually low price it is often recommended as a way for novice marine aquarium keepers to gain experience in the hobby. Thirty gallons is typically quoted as the minimum tank size required to permanently house this fish. Though with the recent popularity of Nano-Reef aquariums it has been cited at as little as 7 gallons.

It is an aggressive fish, even when compared to many damselfish, and will often harass similarly sized fish. It is also territorial with members of its own species, and with new additions to a tank. This will often make it difficult to add other small fish to an aquarium. It is however reef safe and will not harm invertebrates. Despite its hardy nature care should be taken when placing one with larger predatory fish such as lion fish, and grouper which may eat it.

In popular culture

Deb/Flo (voiced by Vicki Lewis) in the Disney/Pixar film Finding Nemo is a four-striped damselfish (though she is sometimes thought to be Dacyllus aruanus.)

References

• liveaquaria.com Page on Four Stripe Damselfish