''Neoglyphidodon oxyodon'', the neon velvet damselfish is a species of

damselfish Damselfish are those within the subfamilies Abudefdufinae, Chrominae, Lepidozyginae, Pomacentrinae, and Stegastenae within the family Pomacentridae. Most species within this group are relatively small, with the largest species being about 30 ...

in the family

Pomacentridae Pomacentridae is a family of ray-finned fish, comprising the damselfishes and clownfishes. This family were formerly placed in the order Perciformes but are now regarded as being ''incertae sedis'' in the subseries Ovalentaria in the clade Perco ...

. It is found in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. They are found in the aquarium hobby.

Distribution and habitat

This species of fish is found in coral reefs in the western

. It ranges from

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

to the Ashmore Reef in the Timor Sea. The depth range for this species ranges from . They are normally found around ''

Acropora ''Acropora'' is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. Some of its species are known as table coral, elkhorn coral, and staghorn coral. Over 149 species are described. ''Acropora'' species are some of the major reef corals r ...

'' heads for shelter. Lagoons and reef flats are the parts of the reef that this species of fish is found in.

Description

The adults can grow up to a maximum size of . Juveniles and adults have different coloration. Adults of this species are grayish black. Juveniles are dark blue with a light yellow stripe or spot and blue streaks that fade with age.

Ecology

Diet

''Neoglyphidodon oxyodon'' is an omnivorous species of damselfish. They feed on

zooplankton Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...

and filamentous algae."Neoglyphidodon oxyodon"
''Fish Profiles''. Retrieved on November 29, 2014

Behavior

Like most species of damselfish, this species is territorial. At daytime, they are active. When the diurnal hours are over, they take shelter in corals to avoid getting eaten by predators.

In the aquarium

This species of damselfish is rarely seen in the aquarium hobby. It is due to the fact that it has not been yet bred in the aquarium hobby. Most people consider this the "most expensive species of damselfish". People keep them normally in the average conditions that tropical marine fish are kept in. It often chases other peaceful fishes. It loves to cruise by nature therefore need a vast living space and territory.Youtube <> Creatures section, Damselfish - Author:Sublanding Fish

020-06-19 The hyphen-minus is the most commonly used type of hyphen, widely used in digital documents. It is the only character that looks like a minus sign or a dash in many character sets such as ASCII or on most keyboards, so it is also used as such. ...

/ref>

Reproduction

Males establish a territory on a rock or coral surface and start clean it. Then, the male will court a female to the territory. Females then lay their eggs and the males fertilize them. After that, the male will constantly guard the eggs until they hatch."Blue Velvet Damsel on Aquatic Community"
''Aquatic Community'' Retrieved on January 15, 2015 The eggs also get aerated and tended for by the male. Eggs that failed to hatch are removed out of the spawning site. The reproduction process usually lasts for about 20 minutes. Females can lay up to 20,000 eggs each. On average, eggs take about 3 days to a week to hatch. Males sometimes spawn with more than 1 female.

Etymology

The common names that are mostly used for this species are bluestreak damselfish, blue-streak damselfish, bluevelvet damselfish, Javanese damselfish, Java damselfish, and bluebanded damselfish.Details for Neoglyphidodon oxyodon
''Database Museum''. Retrieved on November 29, 2014

References

External links

Bluestreak damselfish Information and taxonomy
{{Taxonbar, from=Q933201 oxydodon Fish described in 1830