Chaetodon assarius is a rare, shallow water planktivorous butterflyfish native to the waters of Western-Australia. The lovely fish is closely related to and looks similar to various other species found around the world, such as C. dolosus and C. sedentarius. Although at first glance, its lack-luster coloration is a contrast to most other brightly colored Chaetodon.
However, the pale peach-brown colored fish is no stranger to rare fish enthusiasts who are able to recognize the subtle beauty of this pleasant species. C. assarius has never been available in large amounts or regularity due to its location in which they live at. With recent collections of rare and sought after Australian fishes such as the charming Lennard’s wrasse and the extremely cool Rainfordia opercularis, the appearance of C. assarius in the market has increased slightly and is made more available.
C. assarius is a shallow water fish that feeds mainly on zooplankton and algae, making it an ideal fish for the aquarium, that accepts food with ease. There has been accounts of strays being found in Southern Indonesia and Bali, but there has been no collection or exports of these fishes from anywhere but Australia. We would like the tank Jenn Chye of aquarium M3MORPH from Singapore for providing us with these photographs.
