The Moorish idol is a tropical reef fish of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, with bold black, white, and yellow bands and a long, trailing dorsal fin. It's the only species in its family, and in the US it can be seen on reefs around the Hawaiian Islands. Many people know it as Gill from Finding Nemo.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Adults are usually about 8 in (21 cm) long and up to 9 in (23 cm), with a flat, disk-shaped body, a long snout, and small hornlike bumps in front of the eyes.
Look-alikes
BannerfishesHeniochus
Bannerfishes such as the pennant coralfish have yellow rear fins and a yellow tail behind the second black band, and a shorter snout. The Moorish idol has a black, white-edged tail and a long, tube-like snout.
Why they get mixed upThey share a white body, two black bands, and a long white dorsal streamer.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- coral reefs
- rocky reefs
- lagoons
- Range
- Lives across the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans, from East Africa to Hawaii and Easter Island, and along the eastern Pacific from the Gulf of California to Peru. In the US, it lives on reefs around the Hawaiian Islands.
- Preferred conditions
- Found from shallow reef flats down to about 590 ft (180 m). In Hawaii, it is often seen alone or in pairs along reef slopes and shallow coral areas.
Behavior
- Diet
- Mostly sponges, plus algae, coral polyps, , and other small invertebrates.
- Social life
- Usually seen alone or in pairs or threes, but sometimes in large schools.
Life cycle
- Reproduction
- Releases eggs and sperm into open water. The larvae drift for a long time, which helps explain why the species is spread so evenly across a huge range.
Growing it
- Care
- Famously hard to keep in a home aquarium. Tanks often need to be larger than 100 gallons (380 L).
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
- Status
- Widespread and locally abundant, but the loss of coral reefs to warming seas threatens its habitat.
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- The Hawaiian name kihikihi is usually explained as meaning curves, corners, or zigzags, matching its angular shape and stripes.
- The genus name Zanclus is Greek for "sickle," for the long, curved dorsal fin; cornutus means "horned."
More species to explore
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