Whitetail dascyllus

Whitetail dascyllus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Family:	Pomacentridae
Genus:	Dascyllus
Species:	D. aruanus
Binomial name
Dascyllus aruanus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Tetradrachmum arcuatum Cantor, 1850 Chaetodon aruanus Linnaeus, 1758 Tetradrachmum aruanum (Linnaeus, 1758) Chaetodon arcuanus Gmelin, 1789 Pomacentrus emamo Lesson, 1831 Dascyllus blochii Castelnau, 1875 Pomacentrus trifasciatus De Vis, 1884 Pomacentrus devisi D.S. Jordan & Seale, 1906 Abudefduf caroli Curtiss, 1938

Dascyllus aruanus, known commonly as the whitetail dascyllus or humbug damselfish among other vernacular names, is a species of marine fish in the family Pomacentridae.^[1]

Whitetail dascyllus is up to 10 centimetres (3.9 in) in length but its common size is 6 centimetres (2.4 in) and is white with three black vertical bars.^[2]

Associated with coral reefs, most usually in groups above Acropora coral heads. Males may be aggressive against other fish while they tend eggs.^[2] It changes behavior by analyzing its surroundings - in environments where it cannot camouflage easily, it will begin moving erratically to "dazzle" any predator trailing it. In contrast, it will move slower in environments it can camouflage in.^[3]

Whitetail dascyllus is widespread throughout the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific region, Red Sea included.^[1][4] However, the species has recently been split with D. aruanus found in the Pacific and Forsskål's 1775 name Dascyllus abudafur being resurrected for the Red Sea and Indian Ocean populations.^[5]

They are called aquarium 'Starter fish' as they are quite tolerant of variable conditions and aid in conditioning the tank environment for less hardy fish. These fish have been reared in captivity. They can be territorial with other fish. The adult is quite aggressive.