Damselfish are preventing Cleanerfish from cleaning in the Caribbean

New research from the Universities of Cambridge and Cardiff shows that when Sharknose gobies set up cleaning stations in damselfish territories, the damsels scare their clients away. Damsels have been chasing off fish since the dawn of time and on…

Aberrant Domino damselfish is one in one thousand catch

Kusuma Aquarium in Bali, Indonesia, has sold what they say is an aberrant Domino Damsel. The leucistic fish pictured clearly lacks the jet-black color its species is known for but you can just about make out where the black pigment…

Chromis sahulensis & C. norfolkensis, Two More New Damselfish Species

Chromis norfolkensis and C. sahulensis are two new species of one of our favorite group of reef animals, the damselfishes. Like several of the most recently described species of Chromis especially, the new species have been teased apart from other common and well…

Chromis vanbebberae: The White Tail Reef Fish Gets Elevated to Full Species

Chromis vanbebberae is a brand new species of damselfish that was described at the end of last year and finally puts a name to a fish we’ve long had on our radar. This curious smaller Chromis has been known for some…

Some Damselfish Favorites Reclassified as Azurina & Pycnochromis

Damselfish are one of the largest families of marine fish with over 400 described species and counting. Due to their global distribution, wide range of forms and impressive diversity, saying that understanding and characterizing their taxonomy is nothing short of…

Pomacentrus andamanensis & Eviota angustifascia, New Damselfish and Goby Species

Two new species of reef just got their official descriptions inaugurating them into the annals of reef fish taxonomy. Like so many recent damselfish, Pomacentrus andamanensis was split off from a common and widespread species, the ambon damselfish, while the…

Reuniting With Two of Our Favorite Damselfish, Chrysiptera starcki & C. springeri

Damselfish get a bad wrap in saltwater and reef aquariums but for over twenty years this group of hardy colorful fish has remained one of our absolute favorites. Almost no other group is as diverse, easy to feed, and colorful…

Chromis pacifica, a New Name for a Common Damselfish

Chromis pacifica is the newest species of damselfish that, as the name indicates, is a tropical reef fish from the Pacific Ocean. While the name might be new, this is actually a redescription of Chromis agilis that once included a…

Chromis mamatapara, a New Species of Damselfish from the Depths of Easter Island

Chromis are part of a group of fish that we expect to encounter in the deeper tropical reefs of the world, alongside the deepwater basslets, anthias, and certain wrasses, It’s therefore not a complete surprise that deep diving surveys in…

Pomacentrus vatosoa: Corazon’s Damselfish get Official Description

Corazon’s damselfish is a brilliant new species of damselfish that was discovered just last year has already been treated to an official description. This little treasure of a reef fish from Madagascar has been bestowed the latin name of Pomacentrus…