| Hawaiian dascyllus | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Family: | Pomacentridae |
| Genus: | Dascyllus |
| Species: | D. albisella |
| Binomial name | |
| Dascyllus albisella (Gill, 1862) | |
| Synonyms | |
Dascyllus edmondsoni Pietschmann, 1934 | |
Dascyllus albisella commonly known as the Hawaiian dascyllus, Hawaiian domino, Domino damselfish, or white-spotted damsel is a marine fish found in the Eastern Central Pacific.
Length up to 12.5 cm, dark gray to black, but centers of scales on body are whitish.
Associated with coral reefs, most usually in shallow, protected waters. swim in shallow water surface to 20 feet below in small openings.
The species is found around the Hawaiian Islands and Johnston Island. [1]
Dascyllus albisella are a relatively passive species that spends most of their time foraging. [2] Normally, males are the more aggressive of the two genders as they are the ones that usually exhibit parental care.
While male aggressiveness is expected, males exhibit sole care of the offspring unlike most animals. [3] This is due to the uniparental nature of Dascyllus albisella. This does not indicate that the females are not present whatsoever. Nor does this show that the females only have a duty to lay the eggs. In cases where the male is not present, females may develop more aggressiveness depending on the situation.
As we can see, females do not desert the nest after mating. Females that are larger are more likely to defend the nest in the absence of the male than smaller females. That being said, the nest is defended most frequently by females that were born at that nest.
This does not apply to all the females. Some females, even when raised at the nest will not defend the nest regardless. This increased aggressiveness is more favored towards the larger females, however the correlation isn't terribly strong between size and nest defense. There is only a tendency for larger fish to defend. In another case when both parents are present, the female will display increased aggressiveness when predation levels increase. Females have a tendency to only display aggressiveness when said female's eggs are in danger. [4]
Dascyllus albisella displays aggression by making chirping sounds. There is a difference in the chirping that Dascyllus albisella utilizes towards their own versus other organisms. Females tend to produce aggressive sounds when a male is chased by other female fish. Towards their own species, they make a popping sound that is composed of multiple pulses. In addition, they make these aggressive sounds when chasing juveniles. Towards other species, Dascyllus albisella will make a one and two pulse. The fact that they make different aggressive sounds towards other species shows that they are capable of distinguishing themselves from one another [4]
Dascyllus albisella are also known to hold territories. A territory holder will interact aggressively only when other fish attempt to enter its domain. A territory holder will tolerate most of the fish entering its territory. However, a few fish will be chased away immediately. [5] This behavior is possibly due to those chased away were of similar size to the territory holder and threatened its control on its own territory
Dascyllus albisella interact with each other at an early age as well. The younger fish are referred to as juveniles. In these juvenile interactions we see that Dascyllus albisella form a size based linear dominance. As one can expect, the aggressive scuffles are between larger fish and smaller fish. [6] This behavior most likely establishes the hierarchy early on. This is further reinforced by the observation that growth is less in lower status fish or in larger groups. For larger groups this is most likely that the fish in the group are keeping each other smaller due to the hierarchy, as a result, they retard their growth.
We see that these fish will settle in a group during settling season and said fish will stay in their group even if they chance upon a better group, which shows that Dascyllus albisella aren't that aggressive in their choice of group. [7]
Pomacentridae is a family of ray-finned fish, comprising the damselfishes and clownfishes. This family were formerly placed in the order Perciformes but are now regarded as being incertae sedis in the subseries Ovalentaria in the clade Percomorpha. They are primarily marine, while a few species inhabit freshwater and brackish environments. They are noted for their hardy constitutions and territoriality. Many are brightly colored, so they are popular in aquaria.
Triggerfish are about 40 species of often brightly colored fish of the family Balistidae. Often marked by lines and spots, they inhabit tropical and subtropical oceans throughout the world, with the greatest species richness in the Indo-Pacific. Most are found in relatively shallow, coastal habitats, especially at coral reefs, but a few, such as the oceanic triggerfish, are pelagic. While several species from this family are popular in the marine aquarium trade, they are often notoriously ill-tempered.
The Garibaldi, known historically also as the Catalina goldfish and marine goldfish and now commonly as the Garibaldi damselfish is a species of bright orange fish in the damselfish family. It occurs in the subtropical northeastern part of the Pacific Ocean. The English name, Garibaldi, is based on an Italian surname and is a reference to the Italian general and political figure Giuseppe Garibaldi, whose followers often wore a characteristic scarlet or red shirt. As is the case in all damselfish, male Garibaldis aggressively defend the nest site after the female lays eggs.
Damselfish are those within the subfamilies Abudefdufinae, Chrominae, Lepidozyginae, Pomacentrinae, and Stegastinae within the family Pomacentridae. Most species within this group are relatively small, with the largest species being about 30cm in length. Most damselfish species exist only in marine environments, but a few inhabit brackish or fresh water. These fish are found globally in tropical, subtropical, and temperate waters.
The ocellaris clownfish, also known as the false percula clownfish or common clownfish, is a marine fish belonging to the family Pomacentridae, which includes clownfishes and damselfishes. Amphiprion ocellaris are found in different colors, depending on where they are located. For example, black Amphiprion ocellaris with white bands can be found near northern Australia, Southeast Asia, and Japan. Orange or red-brown Amphiprion ocellaris also exist with three similar white bands on the body and head. Amphiprion ocellaris can be distinguished from other Amphiprion species based on the number of pectoral rays and dorsal spines. Amphiprion ocellaris are known to grow about 110 mm long. Like many other fish species, females are, however, larger than males. The life cycle of Amphiprion ocellaris varies in whether they reside at the surface or bottom of the ocean. When they initially hatch, they reside near the surface. However, when Amphiprion ocellaris enter into the juvenile stage of life, they travel down to the bottom to find shelter in a host anemone. Once they find their anemone, they form a symbiotic relationship with them.
Dascyllus is a genus of fish in the family Pomacentridae. They are usually commensals with corals.
The royal gramma, also known as the fairy basslet, is a species of fish in the family Grammatidae native to reef environments of the tropical western Atlantic Ocean. They are commonly kept in aquariums.
Stegastes nigricans, the dusky farmerfish, is a species of damselfish found around coral reefs at a depth of one to 12 meters, in tropical climates between 30°S and 30°N. They are known for farming monocultures of algae such as cyanophores and rhodophytes.
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.
The threespot dascyllus, also known as the domino damsel or simply domino, is a species of damselfish from the family Pomacentridae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific from the Red Sea and East Africa, to the Pitcairn Islands, southern Japan, and Australia, and can also be found in some parts of the Philippines. Its grey to black body has two lateral white spots and one between the eyes like domino hence the name; the threespot dascyllus grows up to 13 cm in length. Coloration is somewhat variable; the spot on the forehead may be absent and the lateral spots very much reduced. It feeds on algae, copepods and other planktonic crustaceans.
Acanthurus coeruleus is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae, the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs, found in the Atlantic Ocean. It can grow up to 39 centimetres (15 in) long. Common names include Atlantic blue tang, blue barber, blue doctor, blue doctorfish, blue tang, blue tang surgeonfish, yellow barber, and yellow doctorfish.
The nosestripe clownfish or nosestripe anemonefish, skunk clownfish, Amphiprion akallopisos, is an anemonefish that lives in association with sea anemones. A. akallopisos is found in the Indian Ocean. It resides in shallow inshore reefs as deep as 15 m with a moderate to strong current. The skunk clownfish can also be kept in captivity by aquarists.
The midnight parrotfish is a species of parrotfish that inhabits coral reefs mainly in the Caribbean, Bahamas, and Florida.
Chrysiptera parasema, also known as yellowtail damselfish, yellowtail blue damsel, goldtail demoiselle and other variations, is a saltwater species of fish from the Indo-Pacific. It was described by Henry Weed Fowler in 1918.
Dascyllus melanurus, known commonly as the four stripe damselfish, blacktail dascyllus, humbug damselfish, blacktail damselfish, and blacktail humbug, is a species of fish in the family Pomacentridae. It is native to the western Pacific Ocean. It is sometimes kept as an aquarium pet.
Dascyllus reticulatus, known commonly as the reticulate dascyllus or two-stripe damselfish among other vernacular names, is a species of marine fish in the family Pomacentridae.
Neoglyphidodon nigroris, commonly known as the black-and-gold chromis or Behn's damsel is a species of damselfish found in the Indo-West Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 13 centimetres (5.1 in) in total length.
Stegastes planifrons is a damselfish from the Western Atlantic. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.
Pseudochromis fuscus is a species of saltwater fish in the dottyback family. Dottybacks are generally very bright in color and relatively small, factors which have made them popular among aquarium enthusiasts. Besides their coloration and size, they are probably best known for their aggressive temperament. While many of the more common dottybacks are in the Pseudochromis genus, there are also species in other genera. Common names for this particular species include the brown dottyback, the golden dottyback, and the musky dottyback. The common name “Golden dottyback” is shared with another species of dottyback, the Pseudochromis pseudoplesiopinae. The species name, fuscus, means dark or dusky in Latin.
Neoglyphidodon oxyodon, the neon velvet damselfish is a species of damselfish in the family Pomacentridae. It is found in the Pacific Ocean. They are found in the aquarium hobby.
