Damselfish

ID points

• Small, flattened, oval body
• Forked tail fin; swims in quick darting bursts
• Fiercely guards its nest, chasing off much larger fish

Basics

Family

Pomacentridae

Length

6–15 cm

Depth

1-30 m

Regions

Indo-Pacific reefs · Caribbean & W. Atlantic

Distribution

Shallow tropical coral reefs worldwide

Habitat

Shallow coral reefs

Diet

Algae, zooplankton

Easily confused with

Blue-green ChromisBright blue-green all over, almost transparent against the lightClark's AnemonefishBody black to dark brown with three broad white bandsSergeant MajorFive black vertical bars on a silvery white ground, back tinged yellow

Fun fact

Damselfish are tiny, just 5-15 cm, but no fish guards its patch harder. One will charge and nip at a diver hundreds of times its own size without backing off an inch. They also tend careful algae farms on the coral and chase off every intruder.

More in this family

• Clownfish
• Garibaldi
• Humbug Damselfish
• Maroon Clownfish
• Three-spot Dascyllus
• Tomato Clownfish