Hello Earth people, I have a cute little Banded Butterflyfish hiding in a sea-fan for you all today that we came across the other day while cleaning the reef. These fish are so beautiful and really one of the more graceful fish you will see on the reef, they just cruise about the reef (usually in pairs) without a care in the World. This one here was so calm that I was able to photograph him or her with a 105 macro lens and really showed little concern at all. I was telling a new underwater photographer just yesterday to concentrate your efforts on animals and creatures that are relaxed, stationary or slow moving and practice patience! Banded butterflyfishes, also called banded mariposas, butterbuns, butterflyfishes, Portugese butterflies, and school mistresses, were first described by Carl Linnaeus as Chaetodon striatus in 1758. The family name “Chaetodontidae ” means “bristle-tooth,” while “striatus” refers to their thick black vertical stripes — two on their sides and a third extending from their dorsal fin to their caudal peduncles (tails). Their pelvic fins, except for the spine, are also black. A well-known denizen of commercial aquariums, this species has a short snout and a vertically flattened, squarish “disk-shaped” body. They have 12 dorsal spines, 19 to 21 dorsal soft rays, 3 anal spines, and 16 to 17 anal soft rays. Adult banded butterflyfishes grow to a maximum length of about 15 cm. Maturity is reached at lengths around 12 cm. Banded butterflyfishes, Chaetodon striatus, are associated with tropical marine reefs from 43° N to 23° S, at depths of 3 to 55 meters. In the Western Atlantic, they can be found from Massachusetts to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. In the central Atlantic they are found off St. Paul’s Rocks .Banded butterflyfishes, Chaetodon striatus, feed primarily on polychaete worms, coral polyps , crustaceans and mollusk eggs, scraping off the invertebrates with their bristly teeth. Adults may form plankton -feeding aggregations of up to 20 individuals, and they occasionally clean other reef fishes which join the group, such as grunts, parrotfishes and surgeon fishes. They are a diurnal species, active during the day and sleeping at night. At the end of the day they seeks shelter from night predators such as moray eels, sharks, and other larger reef fishesBanded butterflyfishes, Chaetodon striatus, reproduce quickly. Their minimum population doubling time is less than 15 months. Banded butterflyfish adults are most often seen in male-female pairs and may be monogamous throughout life. Courtship between the two is drawn out and energetic; the fish circle each other, head to tail, then chase each other around the nearest coral reef, shooing away other fish that dare to approach. Spawning takes place at dusk as the female releases 3,000 to 4,000 small, pelagic eggs. The larvae , which hatch within a day, are characteristic only to the butterflyfish family, with the head encased in bony armor and bony plates extending backwards from their heads. The larvae are gray and almost transparent, useful adaptations for any species growing up in the water column. By 24 hours after hatching, however, they have taken on the color of juveniles. Juveniles look different from adults; they have a large, ringed black spot at the base of their dorsal fins that acts as a false eye , confusing predators as to which end is the front of the fish. Juveniles may retain this spot up to a size of 5 centimeters, after which it begins to fade away. The overall body color of juveniles is brownish-yellow instead of white and may serve as camouflage, as banded butterflyfish juveniles often inhabit sea grass beds . Thanks to Marine Bio for this wonderful information. http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=433 The rains have stopped and everything is blooming and turning green again but without a bit more rain the greening will stop. Not much else going on, I am headed out to the sea for a dive with the sub and then biking tonight, have a wonderful weekend all and thanks for tuning in. If there is something specific you would like to see just ask, I can be reached at; barry@coralreefphotos.com See ya, Barry MORE: Banded Butterflyfish, Chaetodon Striatus, Reef Fish