Pacific double-saddle butterfly fish

Scientific name : Chaetodon ulietensis

Medium size butterfly fish (15 cm), white with yellow fins, black vertical lines, spot on caudal peduncle, two black saddles. Common species in lagoon, back reef and reef front. Feeding on corals, but also algae and other invertebrates. We have observed it feeding on a small schooling fish, the juvenile convict blenny Pholidichtys leucotaenia. Solitary, in pairs or small shoals. In the group ow white and black butterfly fishes, the two saddles are the diagnostic character of C. ulietensis. Similar to an Indian Ocean species,Chaetodon falcula, with smaller and sharper saddles. Species doing well even where corals are damaged, because it can feed on many other organisms.