Animal Facts

The lovely Threadfin Butterfly fish is known by a few different names, but most are in reference to their unique strand that grows from the back of their dorsal fin. This strand becomes longer as the fish ages. These fish are basically white in color shifting to yellow towards the tail end with dark zigzag stripes on the body and a black stripe on the face over their eyes. These fish vary in size but do not typically grow larger than nine inches long.

The Threadfin Butterfly fish have a large range and can be found from the east side of Africa to Hawaii and from Japan to Australia. They prefer relatively shallow water around reefs or rocky areas with an abundance of plants and places to hide. While these fish do feed on algae, they are omnivores and love to eat polyps, annelid worms and anemones.

These energetic fish are often found in pairs but will sometimes form larger groups to search for food over a larger area. When breeding, this fish spread their eggs through the water which hatch into a larval type stage and float about the ocean like plankton. These larvae are unique, with bony plates that protect them for weeks to months as they grow into juveniles.