Banded Butterflyfish
Chaetodon striatus
Blackback butterflyfish
Chaetodon melannotus
About
The blackback butterflyfish is a reef-dwelling butterflyfish found across the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea and East Africa to southern Japan, Micronesia, and Samoa.
Also known as: black-backed coralfish, black-backed butterflyfish, blackbacked butterflyfish, butterflyfish, blackbacked butterflyfish, black-backed coralfish, blackback butterflyfish, black-backed butterfly fish, black-backed butterflyfish, blackback butterflyfish, black-backed butterfly-fish, black-back butterfly-fish
- Length
- 18 cm
- Depth
- up to 20 m
How to tell it apart
Several butterflyfish share its stripes and shape, but this trick is rare among them. Watch for that black night-time or fright colouration with two pale patches. It is a quick, reliable check even in dim light.
Appearance
It grows up to 18 cm long. Its most striking feature is a colour change: when frightened, or seen at night, the upper half of its body turns black, leaving two white patches showing on its back.
Behaviour
This species lives on reefs, especially around thickets of staghorn coral, and is less often seen on exposed parts of a reef. It is usually solitary, though pairs become more common during the breeding season, and young fish are often found inshore in pairs or small groups. It feeds mainly on the polyps of both hard and soft corals.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
