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Related FAQs: Chrysiptera Damsels, Damsel Identification, Damsel Selection, Damsel Compatibility, Damsel Feeding, Damsel DiseaseDamsel Reproduction

Related Articles: Chrysiptera, the Best Reef Damsels, Even for Nanos by Bob Fenner, The Damselfish family PomacentridaeChrysiptera talboti, The World's Best Reef Damsel

/A Diversity of Fishes

Chrysiptera Damsels 

By Bob Fenner

  A Chrysiptera cyanea

Includes the genera Glyphidodontops and Paraglyphidodon

Aquarium Species of Chrysiptera of  Interest:

Chrysiptera arnazae (split off from C. parasema) Allen, Erdmann & Barber 2010. Arnaz's Damsel. Indo-Pacific; Indo. and New Guinea. Live in small aggregations, usually w/in branched corals like Acroporids. To 1.5"
https://reefbuilders.com/2010/05/04/chrysiptera-arnazae-cf-parasema-has-been-officiall/#

Below: One in an aquarium, another in N. Sulawesi by RMF and another aquarium shot by Hiroyuki Tanaka.

 
Verticals (Full/Cover Page Sizes Available
Chrysiptera biocellata (Quoy & Gaimard 1825), the Twinspot Damsel, Twospot Demoiselle... Indo-west Pacific, Africa's east coast out to Samoa. To three inches in length. Offered in the trade from time to time. Can be feisty toward other tankmates... should be kept with tough fishes only. Pictured is an adult (2") in the Maldives.

Chrysiptera bleekeri (Fowler & Bean 1928), Bleeker's Damsel. Western Central Pacific; Timor, Flores (and this report of Lombok), Indonesia and the  Philippines. C. starcki is antiequatorial w/ C. bleekeri. To about three inches in length. Photos made off of Gili Air Indonesia and aquarium. 

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Chrysiptera brownriggii (Bennett 1828), a Surge Demoiselle. Indo-West Pacific; Maldives, Sri Lanka to Cook Islands. To 7.5 cm. total length. Lives in shallow surgy zones independently but in association with others of its species, feeding on algae and small crustaceans. Photo taken of an adult in Singapore National Aquarium.

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Chrysiptera cyanea (Quoy & Gaimard 1825), the Blue Devil/Damsel. Likely the most commonly used member of the Damsel family by the aquarium interest. Western Pacific over to the bare eastern edge of the Indian Ocean. To  two and a half inches in length. Females with a dark spot/band over their nose, males have orange yellow on fins. Aquarium specimens shown below.
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Chrysiptera galba Allen & Randall 1974, the Canary Demoiselle. South Central Pacific. To two and a half inches in length. A beauty that should be imported more frequently. The first one in an aquarium, the second the Cooks.

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Chrysiptera hemicyanea (Weber 1913), the Azure Demoiselle. 7 cm.. Indo-West Pacific; Eastern Indian Ocean, Indonesia. Aquarium image. 

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Chrysiptera leucopoma (Weber 1913), the Azure Demoiselle. 7 cm.. Indo-West Pacific; Eastern Indian Ocean, Indonesia. Aquarium image. 

 

Chrysiptera parasema (Fowler 1918), the Yellow-Tail Blue Damsel. Contending for first place as "most used member of the family of Damselfishes". From the western Pacific. To two and a half inches.  Hardy and relatively easygoing. Here in captivity.
Chrysiptera rollandi (Whitley 1961), Rolland's Demoiselle. Indo-Australia Archipelago. To a mere one and three quarters inch in length. In Pulau Redang, Malaysia, and N. Sulawesi. 

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Chrysiptera springeri (Allen & Lubbock 1976), Springer's Damsel. W. Pacific; P.I. and Indo. To 5.5 cm. One of the blue damsels sold in the trade occasionally.

Chrysiptera starcki (Allen 1973), Starck's Demoiselle. Western Pacific; Noumea to Queensland to Japan. C. starcki is antiequatorial w/ C. bleekeri. To nearly two and a half inches. A beautiful reef-associated Damsel, best kept one to a tank. Aquarium photo.

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Chrysiptera talboti (Allen 1975), Talbot's Damsel. Indo-West Pacific. To about two inches maximum length. A great little Damsel for reef aquariums. Regularly collected for the ornamental trade in Fiji. Australian, Fiji  and N. Sulawesi images. 
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Chrysiptera taupou (Jordan & Seale 1906), the Village Belle or South Seas Devil. Southwestern Pacific Ocean. A great beauty and relatively non-aggressive. A very nice addition as an individual specimen to reef aquariums; where this one was photographed. To two and a half inches in length.

Chrysiptera unimaculata (Cuvier 1830), the One spot Demoiselle. Indo-west Pacific, Red Sea. Highly variable in markings, color, from east coast of Africa to Fiji. This juvenile and sub-adult in the Maldives. To three inches overall in length. Imported as juveniles that turn overall brownish with age.

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Bibliography/Further Reading:

Allen, Gerald R. 1973. Chromis bitaeniatus Fowler and Bean, the juvenile of Abudefduf behni (Bleeker). TFH 5/73.

Allen, Gerald R. 1975. Damselfishes of the South Seas. TFH Publications, Neptune City, N.J.

Allen, Gerald R. 1991. Damselfishes of the World. Aquarium Systems, Mentor, Ohio.

American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, 1978. The Biology of the Damselfishes a symposium held during the 56th annual meeting of the ASIH. Rosentiel School of Mar. & Atm. Sci. U. of Miami, 1980, 145-328.

Axelrod, H.R. & Warren E. Burgess. 1981. Damselfishes and Anemonefishes. TFH 9/81.

Emmens, C.W. 1984. Damselfishes. TFH 9/84.

Fenner, Bob. 1989. Successfully selling the popular marines. Pets Supplies Marketing 1/89.

Fenner, Bob & Cindi Camp, 1991. Damselfishes, saltwater bread and butter. FAMA 10/91.

Fenner, Robert. 1998. The Conscientious Marine Aquarist. Microcosm, VT. 432pp.

Fenner, Robert. 1999. The indomitable damsels- Family Pomacentridae. TFH 1/99.

Flood, A. Colin. 1992. Thos darling damsels. TFH 8/92.

Gronell, A.M., 1984. Look-alike damsels. TFH 32(8) 48-53.

Thresher, R.E., P.L. Colin & Lori J. Bell. 1989. Planktonic duration, distribution and population structure of western and central Pacific damselfishes (Pomacentridae). Copeia 1989(2), pp. 420-434.

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