Chrysiptera cyanea

Chrysiptera cyanea
Blue Damselfish
Blue damselfish (Chrysiptera cyanea)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Pomacentridae
Subfamily: Pomacentrinae
Genus: Chrysiptera
Species: C. cyanea
Binomial name
Chrysiptera cyanea
Quoy & Gaimard, 1825


Chrysiptera cyanea, also known as blue damselfish, sapphire devil, or orangetail blue damselfish, is a popular saltwater aquarium fish from the Indo-Pacific. It is estimated to be the most sold marine aquarium fish in the United States. It grows to a size of 8.5 cm in length. References

Appearance

A small marine fish that reaches two inches in length. It is typically blue, occasionally with an orange tail.

In the Aquarium

Chrysiptera cyanea is a hardy member of a saltwater aquarium. Because of this and its usually low price it is often recommended as a way for novice marine aquarium keepers to gain experience in the hobby. Thirty gallons is typically quoted as the minimum tank size required to permanently house this fish.

It is a fairly aggressive fish like most damselfish despite its small size and will often harass similarly sized fish or even fish somewhat larger than itself. It is also territorial with members of its own species, and with new additions to a tank. This will often make it difficult to add other small fish to an aquarium. It is however reef safe and will not harm invertebrates. Despite its hardy nature, it also must not be placed in an aquarium with larger predatory fish such as lionfish[disambiguation needed ], and grouper which will often see it as a food source. Males are usually an electric blue color with an orange tail.Females are an electric blue with a black spot on the top of the fin and has no orange tail, just all blue.

References

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