| Remarks |
Smallest juveniles (up to 25 mm SL) live in schools of about 20, often in seagrass beds, feeding on 'aufwuchs' on fronds; at 50 mm SL they live in schools among branching corals in waters about 2 m deep, grazing on finer benthic algae (often form mixed feeding schools with siganids & scarids); at about 60 mm SL, pair bonds begin to form which are partly nomadic & may join large schools which migrate to feed in areas flooded by the tide; by 15 cm SL, pairs are sedentary, living among corals in deeper waters (about 6 m) such as lagoons & drop-off faces at edges of reefs, with coarser benthic algae as their diet. Feeding in crevices facilitated by slightly tubular snout (Ref. 1419). Also Ref. 58534. |