All have compressed bodies and small mouths and teeth.
Butterfly fish are carnivorous, feeding on crabs, barnacles, and other invertebrates.
The angelfishes have spines on their gill covers and long filaments on their dorsal fins. They are barred in black and white. The tangs have variable coloration. The butterfly fishes are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Osteichthyes, order Perciformes, family Chaetodontidae.