Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 3 - 40 m (Ref. 9710). Tropical; - 30°S
Western Indian Ocean: East Africa south to Durban, South Africa (Ref. 5372). Also found in oceanic islands.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 12.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9710)
Usually seen alone or in pairs (specially during spawning) but occasionally in small groups, particularly in the vicinity of staghorn Acropora and Goniopora (Ref. 5503) thickets. Diet consists of live corals which makes it difficult to maintain in captivity (Ref. 4858). Little intraspecific nor interspecific aggressiveness (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).
Allen, G.R., 1985. Butterfly and angelfishes of the world. Vol. 2. 3rd edit. in English. Mergus Publishers, Melle, Germany. (Ref. 4858)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 25.4 - 27.9, mean 26.9 °C (based on 64 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): 3.3 ±0.61 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 = 133 [67, 212] mg/100g; Iron = 0.975 [0.567, 1.669] mg/100g; Protein = 18.6 [17.4, 19.8] %; Omega3 = 0.125 [0.071, 0.217] g/100g; Selenium = 36 [19, 69] μg/100g; VitaminA = 48.3 [14.0, 170.0] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.7 [1.1, 2.5] mg/100g (wet weight);