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Pomacentrus Species of Interest To Aquarists:
The fifty six described species of this Damsel genus contain many peaceful
aquarium possibilities.
| Pomacentrus albicaudatus Burgess 1981, Whitefin Damselfish.
Western Indian Ocean: Red Sea. To 6 cm. Red Sea photo. |
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| Pomacentrus alleni Burgess 1981, Allen's or
Andaman Damselfish. Andaman Sea, the Similans off of Thailand. A hardy
beauty that grows to a maximum of two inches and does well living
solitarily. This one in a reef aquarium by itself. |
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| Pomacentrus aquilus Allen & Randall 1980,
the Somber or Dark Damselfish. Western Indian Ocean: Red Sea and the
Persian Gulf, south to Madagascar and the east African coast at least as
far south as Kenya. To 12 cm. in length. Largish, but easily detected as
it slinks between rocky cover. An adult one in the Red Sea. |
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| Pomacentrus auriventris Allen 1991, the Yellow-belly
or Goldbelly Damsel. Indo-Malay Peninsula, Caroline Islands. To 5.5 cm.
Found near bottom, principally about rubble slopes. N. Sulawesi pix. |
 
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| Pomacentrus caeruleus
Quoy & Gaimard 1825, the Caerulean Damsel. Western Indian Ocean, eastern
Africa to the Maldives. To four inches maximum. A Damselfish beauty that
deserves to be imported much more frequently. This one in the Maldives. |
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| Pomacentrus chrysurus
Cuvier 1830, the Whitetail Damsel. Indo-west Pacific. To about three inches
in length. A better looking individual, with a broad yellow dorsal band and
ocellus, the adults (pictured) are overall slate colored with a white tail.
Maldives image. |
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| Pomacentrus coelestis Jordan & Starks 1901, one
of the Neon Damsels. To three and a half inches in length. Widespread in
the Indo-Pacific, and a common import. This is a feisty damselfish
species, best kept as the only Damsel type in a tank, and allowing a
good fifteen gallons plus per specimen. An alpha male in the Cooks, one
in Fiji. |
 
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| Pomacentrus indicus
Allen 1991, the Indian Damsel. Western Indian Ocean. A rare import, though a
beauty when young. To three inches in length. Juvenile and adult in Maldives
pictured. |
 
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| Pomacentrus moluccensis (Bleeker 1853), the Lemon
Damsel. Eastern Indian and western Pacific Oceans. To two inches in
length. This little beauty is occasionally imported from Fiji (where the
first picture was taken), Tonga and Vanuatu. Second image, Heron Island,
Australia. Third, N. Sulawesi. |
| Pomacentrus nigromanus Weber 1913, the Goldback
Damsel. Western Central Pacific. To 9 cm. This one in S. Sulawesi. |
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| Pomacentrus pavo
(Bloch 1787), the Sapphire or Peacock Damsel. Indo-Pacific. To three inches
in length. A hardy beauty for peaceful all-fish as well as reef tanks. Can
be kept singly. This one photographed in the Maldives. |
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| Pomacentrus philippinus
(Evermann & Seale 1907), the Philippine Damsel. Western Pacific and
eastern Indian Oceans. Variable in amount of yellow coloring by vicinity. To
three inches in length. One in the Maldives where only their tails are
yellow, and another in Mabul, Malaysia. |
 
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| Pomacentrus reidi Fowler & Bean 1928, Reid's
Damsel. Indo-Australian; Philippines, Celebes, Australia, Solomon's. To 9
cm. Found on steep, outer reef slopes, typically solitarily. N. Sulawesi
pix. |
 
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| Pomacentrus sulfureus Klunzinger 1871, the Sulphur
Damsel. Western Indian Ocean, including the Red Sea. To three inches
overall length. This fish has become a steady offering in the pet trade.
It's a gorgeous golden yellow overall as an adult and only slightly less
so as juveniles. This one in Bunaken, Indonesia. |
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| Pomacentrus vaiuli Jordan & Seale 1906, the Ocellated
Damselfish. Western Pacific to Eastern Indian Ocean. To four inches in
length, and as territorial as the genus comes... hangs out on its patch
of Acroporid coral in the wild, and best kept this way with plenty of
room (at least twenty gallons to each) in captivity. Juveniles in
the Cooks and N. Sulawesi shown (bottom one a half inch long), and one
mid-age in
Fiji. Color variable, some with a yellowish dorsal region grading
to blue. |
Bibliography/Further Reading:
Allen, Gerald R. 1975. Damselfishes of the
South Seas. TFH Publications, Neptune City, N.J.
Allen, Gerald R. 1976. How many sergeant
majors? Marine Aquarist 7(6):76.
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.
Burgess, Warren E. 1981. Pomacentrus alleni and Pomacentrus
thiellei, two new species of Pomacentrids (Pisces: Pomacentridae) from the
Indo-Pacific. TFH 11/81.
Emmens, C.W. 1984. Damselfishes. TFH 9/84.
Fenner, Robert. 1998. The Conscientious Marine Aquarist.
Microcosm, VT. 432pp.
Fenner, Robert. 1999. The indomitable damsels- Family
Pomacentridae. TFH 1/99.
Gronell, A.M., 1984. Look-alike damsels.
TFH 32(8) 48-53.
Howe, Jeffrey C. 1995. Original
descriptions: Colombo damsel Pomacentrus proteus Allen, 1991. FAMA 8/95.
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