What is teardrop butterflyfish?
Teardrop butterflyfish (scientific name: Chaetodon unimaculatus). For the butterflyfish family butterflyfish genus. Body length up to 15 cm. Body color is yellow, with lighter eyes to the center of the flanks. There is a large black teardrop-shaped patch in the center of the fish. As the fish matures, the patch becomes less like a teardrop and looks like a round spot. Juveniles are lighter in color and have clearer teardrop-shaped patches. This fish is distributed from the east coast of Africa in the west, Melanesia in the Pacific Ocean in the east, New Guinea in the south, Japan, Taiwan Island and the Paracel Islands in the north. The type species is native to the East Indies.
What does a teardrop butterflyfish look like?
The body is tall and oval; the upper profile of the head is straight and the nose is concave. The snout is prominent and pointed. Anterior nostrils with nasal flaps. Anterior opercular margin with fine serrations; opercular membrane connected to isthmus. The outer teeth of the two jaws are thicker and the inner teeth are smaller. Body covered with medium scales; lateral line rises steeply upwards below IX spine of dorsal fin and descends below terminal margin of dorsal fin base. The dorsal fin is single, with XIII spines and 23-24 soft rays; anal fins with III spines and 19-20 soft rays. The upper half of the body is yellow, and the lower half is pale; there are 10 yellowish-brown vertical fine lines on the front of the body; there is a white-rimmed black round spot about twice the eye diameter above the middle of the body; the distance between the top and bottom of the head is approximately equal to the eye diameter The black eye band only extends down to the chin. The dorsal, ventral and anal fins are golden yellow; there is a narrow black band from the posterior edge of the dorsal fin to the posterior edge of the anal fin through the caudal peduncle; the caudal fin is transparent; the remaining fins are pale or yellowish. Juveniles are not much different from adults, but their body color is brighter yellow.
teardrop butterflyfish living habits
Habitat depth: 1-60 meters deep sea.
Marine benthic organisms, in small groups inhabit reef flats, clear lagoons and coastal reefs, especially in areas rich in leathery corals. It is particularly dependent on coral reefs, feeding on soft and hard corals, mainly Western Pacific soft corals and Moorea hard corals, but also polychaetes, filamentous algae, sponges and small crustaceans. Adult fish are active at a depth of 20-60 meters. Oviparous, paired or flocked during breeding.
teardrop butterflyfish rearing
It should be avoided as far as possible to keep together with the butterflyfish that are too large. The eight-line butterfly is very gentle in feeding, and it is generally not easy to grab. In addition, although this fish is only 300px, it still likes to attack corals, and it is impossible to polyculture in a reef ecological aquarium.
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