Bluecheek Butterflyfish

The blue-cheeked butterflyfish or Masked Butterflyfish (Chaetodon semilarvatus) is a marine ray-finned fish belonging to the butterflyfish family Chaetodontidae. This species can be found in the northwestern 🌊 Indian Ocean.

In terms of its appearance, the blue-cheeked butterflyfish has a vibrant yellow body adorned with slender vertical red lines. Unlike other related species, it possesses a greyish patch behind its eyes rather than an eye bar. Its fins, including the dorsal, anal, pelvic, and caudal fins, are all yellow in color. This butterflyfish is relatively large, with a maximum total length reaching 23 centimeters (9.1 inches), although a more typical length is around 15 centimeters (5.9 inches).

The distribution of the blue-cheeked butterflyfish spans the northwestern 🌊 Indian Ocean, encompassing the 🌊 Red Sea and the 🌊 Gulf of Aden, with its range extending as far east as the coast of 🇴🇲 Oman.

In terms of its habitat and behavior, the blue-cheeked butterflyfish exhibits a unique characteristic among fish species as it forms long-term mating pairs. In their natural habitat, these fish feed on hard corals and benthic invertebrates. They are commonly encountered in areas characterized by abundant coral growth. Often, they can be observed in pairs or small shoals, with occasional instances of hovering beneath ledges of plate corals from the Acropora genus. As an oviparous species, the blue-cheeked butterflyfish forms pairs during spawning, typically during daylight hours. They are primarily active at night and can be found at depths ranging from 1 to 20 meters (3.3 to 65.6 feet).