One of these, the Bank Butterflyfish, is a deep water species rarely seen. The other five are prominent and conspicuous members of reef communities. R eminiscent of their butterfly namesake, these small, colorful fish spend their day flitting about shallow to deep reefs, dock pilings and rubble fields using keen eyesight to search for exposed coral polyps, tiny worms and other invertebrates.
Butterflies generally travel singly or in pairs within a rather limited home-range.
At dusk they find shelter in a reef recess and become inactive. As they settle in for the night, daytime colors pale and markings change. Fortunately, this is the case for four out of the five butterflies described in this article. Let's take a look at Banded Butterflyfish first. Their two dark midbody bands make them a snap to identify by simply associating the bands with the species' name.