Description

Also known as Butterbun, Caribbean Reef Butterflyfish, Common Butterflyfish, Coralfish, Reef Butterflyfish, School Mistress, Spotfin Butterfly, Two-spotted Butterflyfish.

Found singly or in pairs, over clear water, coral reefs, rich in coral growth. At night they develop dusky bands for camouflage.
They feed on benthic algae, coral polyps, crustaceans, and christmas-tree-worms
Length - 20cm
Depth - 0-30m
Widespread Western Atlantic, Caribbean

Butterflyfishes have very fine hair like teeth that enable them to pick out small organisms inaccessible to most other fish for eating.
They thrive mainly on a diet of coral polyps, tentacles of featherdusters and Christmas-tree worms. As these food sources all zap back into their shells, butterflyfishes need to be able to hover motionless while picking at the coral and to dart swiftly over short distances to get the worm before it retracts. They do this by using their Pectoral fins as oars to brake, sprint, turn and even reverse. Ref: https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Chaetodon-ocellatus.html