WHATSTHATFISH
Bony fish

Vagabond Butterflyfish

Chaetodon vagabundus

Also known as: Coralfish, Crisscross Butterflyfish, Vagabond Butterfly, Vagabond Coralfish, Vagabond's Butterflyfish

LCLeast ConcernIUCN Red List, 2010
Adult
@greatwhite · Sopu Beach, Tonga · October 20111 / 17
01

Overview

Found in pairs, in both fresh and murky waters, over reef flats, lagoons, and seaward reefs, rich in coral growth.

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.

02

How to identify

Head & Mouth
eye stripe
Behaviour
pairs

Tap any trait to see other fish that share it.

03

Habitat & where to find it

  • Range · Indo-Pacific
  • Exact location · 1
  • Country only · 16
LIVES IN

Found in pairs, in both fresh and murky waters, over reef flats, lagoons, and seaward reefs, rich in coral growth.

04

Adult photos 17

05

Discussion 1

Comments are checked by a moderator before they appear.

1 comment

  • dreimers· 20 Mar 2016

    Also common in pairs, in the shallow lagoons surrounding Moorea.

    Helpful
ALL STAGES
FOR THE MARINE-BIOLOGY CURIOUS

Deep dive

Taxonomy

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classTeleostei
  4. orderAcanthuriformes
  5. familyChaetodontidae
  6. genusChaetodon
  7. speciesChaetodon vagabundus Linnaeus, 1758

SourcesWoRMSFishBase

06

More in the family

Butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae)