Golden-Girdled Coralfish (Coradion chrysozonus)

Quick facts

Appearance

Coradion chrysozonus is a striking butterflyfish with a predominantly white or cream-colored body decorated with bold yellow to golden vertical bands that encircle the body. The head and snout region feature black markings, and a dark band runs through the eye. The dorsal and anal fins are yellow with dark edges, giving the fish its characteristic "golden-girdled" appearance.

Diet and feeding

Primarily corallivorous, feeding on coral polyps in the wild. In captivity, feed a varied diet of high-quality preparations including meaty foods (brine shrimp, mysis shrimp), quality pellets formulated for butterflyfish, and occasional fleshy preparations. Feeding at least twice daily helps replicate natural grazing behavior.

Difficulty and care for the Golden-Girdled Coralfish

This species is difficult to maintain in captivity due to its specialized corallivorous diet and tendency to pick at stony and soft corals. Success requires experienced aquarists, excellent water quality, and a well-established system with abundant live coral polyps or reliable substitute foods.

Common health issues

Starvation (if inadequate coral polyps available), nutritional deficiency, parasitic infections (ich, marine velvet), aggression toward conspecifics in small systems.

Origin and habitat

Indo-Pacific region, ranging from the Red Sea and East Africa eastward to Hawaii and the Indo-Australian Archipelago, typically found on coral-rich reef environments at depths of 5–60 meters.