‹ Fish Finder· #123
Pennant Coralfish
Heniochus acuminatus
Bislamabataflaefis— names this kind of animal, not this species alone
- Habitat
- Reef
- Max size
- 25 cm
- Depth
- 15-75 m
- Family
- Chaetodontidae
The pennant coralfish, also known as the longfin bannerfish, reef bannerfish or coachman, is a species of fish of the family Chaetodontidae, native to the Indo-Pacific area.
Adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Easily confused with
Side by side, with what tells them apart.
Similar names and a similar look: white with dark bands and a long dorsal banner. Pennant Coralfish has two black bands, a white face and a plain white banner, and feeds on plankton a few metres above the reef. Pennant Bannerfish has three brown bands, the third along the back and into the dorsal fin, yellow on the snout and between the eyes, and a banner feathered in black and white; it feeds on coral polyps.
See the Pennant Bannerfish →
Near-identical: white with two black diagonal bands, a long white dorsal banner and yellow rear fins. Pennant Coralfish has a longer snout with darker spots, and a longer pelvic fin with a rounded tip. Schooling Bannerfish has a short snout and a smaller, more angular pelvic fin -- and, as its name says, it gathers in schools in open water, where the coralfish stays by the reef in pairs.
See the Schooling Bannerfish →
The classic mix-up: white, black and yellow, with a long white filament trailing from the dorsal fin. Moorish Idol has a tube-like snout with a yellow saddle on it, a black tail edged in white, and small bony bumps above the eyes in adults. Pennant Coralfish has a short snout, a yellow tail with no black on it, and its yellow is on the fins behind the second black band.
See the Moorish Idol →