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| fishes text index | photo index |
| Phylum Chordata > Subphylum Vertebrate > fishes > Family Chaetodontidae |
| Copperband
butterflyfish Chelmon rostratus Family Chaetodontidae updated Sep 2020
Where seen? This strikingly patterned fish is commonly seen on many of our shores, among coral rubble and near reefs. It is said to be more active during the day, but those seen at night can be quite frisky. Elsewhere, they are found on rocky shores, coral reefs, estuaries and silty inner reefs. Features: To about 20cm, those seen during low tide usually about 4-8cm. Body flat, circular disk-shaped, snout is long and pointed. It is sometimes called the Beaked coralfish. 4 bands which are orange or yellow edged in black and white. White-ringed black eye spot on the dorsal fin, white-edged black bar at the base of the tail. The pelvic fins are bright orange and yellow. Juveniles are solitary, more secretive and found in shallower water. Adults have proportionally taller fins swimming in the open near the sea bottom, forming pairs during breeding. |
Has a false eye to distract potential predators. Sentosa, Oct 03 |
 Pointed snout to nibble on small things. |
 It almost disappears when seen from above or head on. Sentosa, Oct 03 |
| What does it eat? It uses its
long snout to pick out bottom dwelling creatures from crevices. These
include worms and small crabs. Human uses: Unfortunately these beautiful fishes are popular in the live aquarium trade although they are considered among the most difficult to keep and feed. According to the IUCN Red List, "there is no data on how harvest for the aquarium trade affects the population. There appear to be no other major threats to this species." Fish traps left on the intertidal often contain several of these beautiful fishes. Sometimes, they are already dead as the trap is exposed out of water. |
| Copperband butterflyfishes on Singapore shores |
On wildsingapore
flickr
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| Other sightings on Singapore shores |
| Terumbu Pempang
Laut, Apr 11 Copperbanded Butterflyfish from Loh Kok Sheng on Vimeo. |
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References
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