Yellowtail Damsel

Yellowtail Damsel (Chrysiptera parasema) is a species of fish in the family Pomacentridae. It is native to Western Pacific reefs. The yellowtail damsel is the damselfish most often handed to beginners, and for once the recommendation holds up. It is electric blue with a clean yellow tail — the yellow sometimes running into the anal and dorsal fins in Papua New Guinea fish, never onto the back or belly — and it can shift shade within minutes, darkening to conserve energy when stressed. It reaches around 7.5 cm and lives between 1 and 16 metres over dense coral in sheltered lagoons and inshore reefs. It is less aggressive than most of its family, though still territorial toward its own kind. Breeding males are the interesting part: they collect eggs from several females, up to ten thousand at a time, and prefer territories that already hold eggs — because a nest that is filling up attracts more.