Latin name

Chrysiptera hemicyanea

Other name

Azure demoiselle, half-blue demoiselle, and yellow-dipped damsel.

Identification

The common name Chrysiptera is a combination of the Greek words chrysos, meaning 'golden', and pteron, meaning 'fin' or 'wing', while the species name hemicyanea means 'half blue', referring to the blue head and upper body.

Features of fish fins

Dorsal spines (total): 14; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13 - 14; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 14 - 15.

Fish colouring

It is usually bright blue with a bright yellow underside. Different species of this genus have varying degrees of gold colouration.

Distribution

Widespread in the eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific. Recently found in the Mediterranean off the coast of Malta. As a reef species, the largest population is found in the so-called Coral Triangle, one of the world's largest groups of coral reefs, stretching from the Solomon Islands to Indonesia, Bali and the Philippines. 

Habitat

These tropical species live on coral reefs near the equator. They live in lagoons or near coastal reefs and are usually found in rock formations or around branching corals such as acroporas. They typically live in waters from 1 to 38 m (3 to 125 ft) deep and are not migratory.

Size

This tropical marine fish grows to 7 centimetres in length. 

Behavior

Found near sheltered shores at shallow depths. Occurs in plant-rich corals in pairs or groups of juveniles and adults. This species requires coral or other structures for protection from predators. 

Food and feeding habits

It feeds mainly on plankton and small invertebrates.

Reproduction

The reproduction of azure damselfish is not well understood. Reproduction in members of the genus Chrysiptera involves mating in pairs, followed by an egg-laying life cycle in bottom sediments where the eggs attach to the substrate and the male remains nearby to guard and aerate the eggs. The genus also has a shorter larval stage than other damselfish, and these two factors cause distribution problems. Populations can double in 15 months.

Fishing

Azure damselfish are of no commercial interest to fishermen.

Relationship with a person

The main way to protect this species is to conserve its primary habitat, coral reefs. Coral reefs are now beginning to disappear in most areas due to coral bleaching, which occurs when higher average temperatures cause corals to overheat and die, turning them white. Global warming is thought to be the main cause of reef destruction, which is expected to increase in the coming decades. Global coral reefs are predicted to be severely damaged by mid-century. As coral reefs die, additional structures, such as artificial reefs or other structures for fish to hide in, may become necessary.