Chaetodon trifasciatus, Melon butterflyfish : fisheries, aquarium

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Chaetodon trifasciatus Park, 1797

Melon butterflyfish
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Image of Chaetodon trifasciatus (Melon butterflyfish)
Chaetodon trifasciatus
Picture by Patzner, R.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Acanthuriformes (Surgeonfishes) > Chaetodontidae (Butterflyfishes)
Etymology: Chaetodon: Greek, chaite = hair + Greek, odous = teeth (Ref. 45335).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range ? - 30 m (Ref. 86942). Tropical; 30°N - 30°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Indian Ocean: from East Africa and islands of western and central Indian Ocean to Andaman Sea, Cocos-Keeling Islands, Christmas Island, and western Indonesia (western Sumatra, Java, Bali ad Nusa Penida).. According to Randall, pers. comm. 1995 Chaetodon trifasciatus occurs only in the Indian Ocean while Chaetodon lunulatus occurs only in the Pacific). DNA (from tissue samples) expected to further distinguished two distinct species (Chaetodon lunulatus and Chaetodon trifasciatus (Ref. 86689).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 13.8, range 13 - 15 cm
Max length : 15.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5372); common length : 12.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5450)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 13 - 14; Dorsal soft rays (total): 20-22; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 18 - 21.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occur in coral-rich lagoons and semi-protected seaward reefs. Territorial and aggressive to other Chaetodon. Small juveniles secretive in corals (Ref. 48636). Swim in pairs. Feed exclusively on coral polyps, particularly of the Pocillopora type (Ref. 5503, 48636). 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 obligate, geentic and social (Ref. 52884).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Myers, R.F., 1991. Micronesian reef fishes. Second Ed. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 298 p. (Ref. 1602)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 07 October 2009

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

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Common names
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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | DORIS | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02344 (0.01585 - 0.03467), b=3.06 (2.94 - 3.18), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.3   ±0.6 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 0.8 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 2 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K>1).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 141 [69, 248] mg/100g; Iron = 1.12 [0.63, 2.02] mg/100g; Protein = 18.7 [17.5, 19.9] %; Omega3 = 0.116 [0.061, 0.225] g/100g; Selenium = 44.1 [20.8, 94.0] μg/100g; VitaminA = 29.6 [7.5, 114.6] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.73 [1.09, 2.68] mg/100g (wet weight);