Care
In the wild, these stunningelectric blue and yellow damselfish inhabit inner reef slopes, usually stayingclose to the corals living amongst the mixed rubble substrate. Adults tend tocongregate in small groups over favourable sections of reef, feeding on thezooplankton in the water column and to a lesser extent, benthic algae. GoldBelly Damselfish are colourful, hardy, and well suited to the reef aquarium.However, this is a fairly aggressive species, and as these fish mature, theirbelligerence also often increases. It is therefore advisable to keep either asingle specimen, a known male-female pair, or a large sized odd-numbered shoal(9+) introduced simultaneously as juveniles into a spacious tank with plenty ofhiding places amongst the rockwork. Small groups are often known to sufferfatalities. Choose tankmates with care, avoiding any really docile species suchas firefish and cardinalfish. The Neon Damselfish (
P. coelestis) from the Indo-Pacific is a very similar lookingspecies, but the Gold Belly Damselfish (
P.auriventris) sports much more yellow in the lower half of the body. Anothervery similar species, the Caerulean Damselfish (
P. caeruleus) from the Western Indian Oceandoes not display quite as much yellow on the belly; indeed the pectoral finbase on
P. auriventris is usuallysited on a yellow area, whereas in
P.caeruleus the pectoral fin base sits on a blue area.
Feeding
Offer a varied diet, includingmeaty items such as Mysis shrimp, vitamin-enriched brineshrimp, chopped krill,also marine flake food, and herbivore rations. Feed small amounts 3 times perday.
Breeding
These fish form distinct pairswhen breeding. The tiny eggs (numbering up to 1000) are deposited in a cave oron the substrate and are guarded and aerated by the male fish until hatching.
