All fish / Pomacentridae

Reticulated Dascyllus

Dascyllus reticulatus

Also known as reticulated damselfish, reticulate damsel, headband humbug, two-bar humbug, blue-grey damsel, reticulated humbug, grey humbug damsel, フタスジリュウキュウスズメダイ, 网纹宅泥鱼, 灰边宅泥鱼

This is a small, deep-bodied damselfish. It is pale grey with a faint blue tinge, each scale is edged darker so the body looks netted, and a dark bar runs just behind the head with a second, fainter bar near the tail. People keep it because it is very hardy, cheap and lively, and in the wild it lives in groups around branching corals.

Care at a glance

Care level

Easy

Temperament

Aggressive

Adult size

8 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

150 litres

Keep as

Singly, or as a group of 5 or more in a large tank

Diet

Omnivore: marine flake and pellets, frozen mysis and brine shrimp, chopped seafood and some algae-based food

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

6 to 10 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Eastern Indian Ocean and western Pacific, from the Andaman Sea and Indonesia to Australia, Japan and Samoa

Breeding

Males clear a nest site on rock or coral, and the female lays sticky eggs there. The male guards and fans them until they hatch, usually after a few days. Spawning happens fairly often in captivity, but the tiny pelagic larvae are hard to rear without rotifers and a lot of experience.

Good to know

Adults turn territorial and will bully peaceful or smaller tankmates, so add it last or keep it with robust fish. It is easy to confuse with the Black-tail Humbug (Dascyllus melanurus) and the Humbug Damsel (D. aruanus), which have bold black-and-white bars.