All fish / Caesionidae

Yellowback Fusilier

Caesio xanthonota

Also known as yellowback fusilier, yellow-back fusilier, yellowtop fusilier, fusilier, yellow back caesio, ปลาหางเหลือง, ikan delah, ウメイロモドキ, ikan ekor kuning, pisang-pisang, 黄背梅鲷

This is a streamlined, fast-swimming reef fish with a bright blue body, a yellow back that runs from the head to the forked tail, and pale underparts. Public aquariums and owners of very large reef systems keep it for the striking sight of a shoal moving through open water.

Care at a glance

Care level

Hard

Temperament

Peaceful

Adult size

25 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

1500 litres

Keep as

Shoal of 6 or more

Diet

Carnivore: mysis, krill, copepods and other zooplankton-type foods offered several times a day

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

5 to 10 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Indian Ocean and western Pacific, from East Africa to Indonesia and the Philippines

Breeding

It spawns in open water in large groups, releasing tiny eggs that drift in the plankton. It has not been bred in home aquariums.

Good to know

It grows big, lives in shoals and needs a great deal of open swimming space, so it does not suit ordinary home tanks. It can be confused with Caesio teres, which has more yellow on its rear body and tail.