Ornate butterflyfish

Description

The ornate butterflyfish is a brightly coloured reef fish of the family Chaetodontidae (butterflyfishes) reaching about 20 cm. The deep, strongly compressed body is white with six oblique orange-brown stripes and a conspicuous black mask over the eyes, with yellow on the fins. The species lives on clear coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific, from East Africa to the central Pacific; it does not occur in European waters. It is a specialised coral feeder that grazes polyps from living corals with its small, pointed mouth, and often lives in permanent pairs within a territory. Because of its dependence on healthy coral it is sensitive to reef degradation. In the marine aquarium it is hard to keep due to its specialised diet.