''Chrysiptera cyanea'' is a species of
damselfish
Damselfish are those fish within the subfamilies Abudefdufinae, Chrominae, Lepidozyginae, Pomacentrinae, and Stegastinae within the family Pomacentridae.
Most species within this group are relatively small, although the four largest speci ...
found in the wide Indo-West Pacific but not known in the Red Sea.
A few individuals were observed in the Mediterranean Sea in 2013 off Slovenia, a likely aquarium release.
[Atlas of Exotic Fishes in the Mediterranean Sea (''Chrysiptera cyanea''). 2nd Edition. 2021. 366p. CIESM Publishers, Paris, Monaco. https://ciesm.org/atlas/fishes_2nd_edition/Chrysiptera_cyanea.pdf]
Common names include blue damselfish, blue demoiselle, blue devil, cornflower sergeant-major, Hedley's damselfish, red tail Australian damsel, sapphire devil, and sky-blue damsel.
Description
This fish reaches 8.5 centimeters in length. It is bright blue in color; the male has a yellow snout and tail, and the female and juvenile usually lack yellow but have a black spot at the base of the back edge of the dorsal fin.
[Youtube <> Creatures section, Damselfish - Author:Sublanding Fish 020-06-19/ref>
]
Behavior
The fish inhabits reef
A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...
s and lagoon
A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...
s. Its diet includes algae
Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...
, tunicate
Tunicates are marine invertebrates belonging to the subphylum Tunicata ( ). This grouping is part of the Chordata, a phylum which includes all animals with dorsal nerve cords and notochords (including vertebrates). The subphylum was at one time ...
s, and copepod
Copepods (; meaning 'oar-feet') are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (living in the water column), some are benthos, benthic (living on the sedimen ...
s. Male and female pair up for breeding, and the male guards and tends the eggs.[
]
In aquarium
It is very aggressive. A matched couple often attacks any same size fish approaching its breeding territory.
References
External links
*
cyanea
Fish described in 1825
{{Pomacentridae-stub