Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 30 m. Tropical; - 30°S
Western Indian Ocean: East Africa (Ref. 33390) to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 20.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5372)
Hybrids with C. ephippium known. Usually solitary (Ref. 48636), but may form loose shoals of 5-6 individuals and usually found around isolated coral heads. Territorial and aggressive to other chaetodonts; omnivorous (Ref. 5503). Oviparous (Ref. 205), monogamous (Ref. 52884). Form pairs during breeding (Ref. 205).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Distinct pairing (Ref. 205). Monogamous mating is observed as both obligate and social (Ref. 52884).
Heemstra, P.C., 1986. Chaetodontidae. p. 627-632. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. (Ref. 5372)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 25.9 - 29.3, mean 28.2 °C (based on 852 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02291 (0.01133 - 0.04632), b=3.00 (2.83 - 3.17), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 2.7 ±0.24 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 93.4 [48.7, 143.7] mg/100g; Iron = 0.793 [0.481, 1.277] mg/100g; Protein = 18.4 [17.3, 19.5] %; Omega3 = 0.106 [0.067, 0.167] g/100g; Selenium = 33 [19, 61] μg/100g; VitaminA = 44 [13, 151] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.51 [1.04, 2.15] mg/100g (wet weight);