Blacktail butterflyfish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Blacktail butterflyfish |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Chaetodon
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| Species: |
austriacus
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| Synonyms | |
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The blacktail butterflyfish (Chaetodon austriacus) is a beautiful fish that lives in the ocean. It's also called the black-tailed butterflyfish or exquisite butterflyfish. This fish is part of the butterflyfish family, known for their bright colors. It originally comes from the western Indian Ocean. But it has also traveled to the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal. This journey is called being a Lessepsian migrant.
Where Does It Live?
The blacktail butterflyfish naturally lives in the Red Sea and near southern Oman. In 2011, one was seen near Tel Aviv in Israel. This fish likely swam there from the Red Sea.
What Does It Look Like?
The blacktail butterflyfish can grow up to 14 cm (about 5.5 inches) long. Its body is bright orange with thin, curved black stripes. Its bottom fin (called the anal fin) and its tail are black.
Young blacktail butterflyfish look a bit different. Their bodies are whiter on top, and they have white bands on their tails.
Other fish, like the melon butterflyfish (C. trifasciatus) and the oval butterflyfish (C. lunulatus), look similar. However, they have less black on their tails and anal fins than the blacktail butterflyfish.
How Does It Live?
Blacktail butterflyfish usually live in areas with lots of coral. You can find them in waters from about 0.5 to 20 meters (1.5 to 65 feet) deep. They live on reefs that face the open sea, or in calm lagoons and bays.
Adult blacktail butterflyfish often swim in pairs. They patrol their own special area or territory. Younger fish, called juveniles, like to hide among the branches of coral.
This species eats polyps from corals. They also munch on the tentacles of sea anemones.
