Blue Damselfish ♀ (Chrysiptera cyanea)

Blue Damselfish ♀ Chrysiptera cyanea
Name	Blue Damselfish ♀
Name Lat.	Chrysiptera cyanea
Family	Damselfishes
Family lat.	Pomacentridae
Order	Ovalentarias
Order lat.	Ovalentaria inc. sed.
Origin	Indo-West Pacific
Habitat	Lagoons, reefs
Diet	Omnivore
pH	8.1-8.4
Hardness	8-10 °KH
Behavior	Semi-aggressive
Keeping	Group
Reef Compatible	Yes
Care Level	Easy
Life Span	5-8 years
Protection	No
Metric Units
Size	8 cm
Temperature	24-28 °C
Salinity	33-36 ‰
Aquarium	~ 250 l
US Units
Size	3"
Temperature	75-82 °F
Salinity	1.020-1.025 sg
Aquarium	~ 65 gal

Distribution and habitat

The distribution area of Chrysiptera cyanea is the eastern Indian and western Pacific Oceans, from Western Australia to Indonesia and the Phillipines via Taiwan to Vanuatu and Samoa. They live there in the shallow waters of protected lagoons and reefs with coral growth.

Maintenance

They need a well-structured aquarium with a reef structure that allows for territoriality and at the same time offers hiding, resting and covering possibilities, with living stones that act like a biological filter and sufficient swimming space. Only lime-rich, heavy metal-free substrates may be used as substrate

Filters, skimmers and heaters are necessary to ensure water quality, as well as pumps to simulate tides, swells and bottom currents. Lighting must match the species-appropriate day-night rhythm of the animals

Salinity: 33-36 ‰	pH value: 8.1-8.4
Carbonate hardness: 8-10 °KH	Nitrate content: 2-8 mg/l
phosphate content: 0.01-0.1 mg/l	nitrite content: 0.0-0.05 mg/l

For salinity, an average value should be aimed for, which may only vary slightly by +/- 0.5 ‰. Ammonia and ammonium must not be measurable. Special attention must be paid to constantly good water quality.

Diet

They feed mainly on zooplankton, but also need plant food. The feed change usually succeeds without problems. The food supply should consist of a commercially available, vitamin-enriched, frozen special food mix for plankton eaters or a combination of algae (e.g. spirulina, kelp) with live and frozen food, such as small mysis, krill, bosmids, cyclops and artemia. In addition, high-quality dry food in flake or granular form with a high vegetable content can be offered, which is usually well accepted. It is recommended to feed small portions several times a day (3-5 times).

Regular and varied feeding promotes health and increases resistance.

Behaviour and compatibility

It is recommended to keep them in a group, one male with several females. To avoid territorial fights, they should be introduced into the aquarium at the same time. Adults are very territorial within the species, towards other fish they usually behave peacefully, but consistently defend their territory.

Sex dimorphism

Females are completely blue in color, males have an orange-yellow caudal fin margin.

Reproduction and breeding

There are no known reports of successful breeding in the aquarium.

Important

When threatened, they take refuge in a burrow or crevice and change to black coloration. As soon as they feel unthreatened, they resume their blue coloration.

It is recommended to keep these reef inhabitants together with corals and not to keep them in a fish-only aquarium.

If different species are kept together, make sure that the fish match each other in terms of water quality and temperature requirements as well as their social behavior, and that the setup meets the needs of all species kept together. Newly introduced fish must be acclimated slowly to the water in the aquarium

Further literature can be found in your pet store.

References

Text: petdata; Image: petdata

Source: KUITER & DEBELIUS (2007): Atlas der Meeresfische: Die Fische an den Küsten der Weltmeere, Kosmos Verlag; BAENSCH & PATZNER (1998): Meerwasser Atlas Bd. 7, Mergus Verlag; ENGELMANN (2005): Zootierhaltung - Tiere in menschlicher Obhut: Fische, Verlag Harri Deutsch

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