Commonly known as "horned butterfly fish" and "sea god image", it is a warm water fish that generally lives in shallow waters of the reef. Due to its graceful body shape and bright body color, the sickle fish has become an enduring ornamental fish species. Sickle fish have three major color blocks of black, white and yellow, and their bright colors, elegant and beautiful swimming posture and high dorsal fin like a sickle make them exude an extraordinary temperament.
Origin of the name
The English name of the sickle fish means "Idol of the Moors" or "God of War". It is said that the early Europeans who raised the fish thought that its face resembled that of the Moors who had been executed as wizards, so they gave them the name. It is also believed that the origin of the fish's name is related to their origin: in 1521, Magellan's fleet reached the Philippine Archipelago via the New World, naming it "The Philippines" after Philip II and the local natives "Moors". Due to the abundant production of this beautiful marine fish in the local waters, Filipinos appreciate them, so the fish has been named "Moorish Idol".
Body shape characteristics
Sickle fish has a unique shape, with a flattened body, a body height greater than the body length, and an overall slightly diamond-shaped shape; the body color is usually pale yellow, distributed with 3 vertical black stripes, the color contrast is sharp; the snout is prominent, tubular, but cannot be stretched at will; sharp bulges appear between the eyes; the chest is developed to form a strong breastplate; the pectoral fin is round; the end of the dorsal fin is elongated into filamentary and gradually shortens with age; the posterior edge of the fin is vertical; the caudal fin is black with a white edge, which looks like a crescent.
Habits of life
Sickle fish usually appear in small flocks, occasionally gathering in hundreds. The environments in which they inhabit vary widely, from muddy harbours and reef platforms with hard substrates to deep trenches at 100 metres deep and clean reef rims. When encountering enemies or being frightened, they quickly hide in reef caves or crevices. At night, the sicklefish will sleep on the bottom of the sea, and in order not to be invaded by predators, the body color will become dark.
Growth changes
The juvenile fish is transparent, the abdomen is silvery-white, and it lives a drifting life in the open sea area, known as the "gray sickle fish". They have long dorsal fins, a short snout, and knife-shaped spines at the corners of their mouths, but no horns on their foreheads. As they grow, the appearance and habitat of the young sickle fish change. When the juveniles grow to about 40 mm, they can enter the coral reef area to live. When the body length reaches 75 mm, the knife-shaped spines at the corners of the mouths of juveniles gradually disappear. After maturity, the sickle will appear prominent horns on the forehead, so it is also known as the "horned sickle".
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Huilan Shibei
Distribution Sicklefish are mainly found in the shallow waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Juvenile fish feed on plankton and grow up to eat mainly invertebrates and seaweed.
Teeth Although the image of the sickle fish is very elegant, if you look closely, you can see that it has sharp teeth in its mouth. These teeth can bite through the surface of the brain coral, then tear it off and eat it.
Past periods are also wonderful
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