#damselfishes

Dusky Gregory, Exmouth WA.

There this damsel inhabits shallow seas, were there are rocky bottoms, and especially rocky reefs on exposed to semi-protected coasts with clear water; the complex natural aquascape of the reef provides plenty cover for the Garibaldi to set up territories and hids. The species is less often associared with kelp, where it eats encrusting organisms on the kelp, and the juvenile Garibaldis are hardy enough to be found in intertidal rock pools. One of the oddities about the Garibaldi, is that the mature males are about 2.5 centimeters or 1 inch longer than the females. which is the opposite of what is normal in the damselfishes. The males guard the nests at which time they become famously pugnacious.

Besides the fact that the Garibaldi is not a tropical fish, its diet would make it unsafe in a coral reef. Their broad spectrum diet definitely includes anemones and gorgonians, and they are able to consume both branching and encrusting growth forms of sessile fodder. As omnivores they do consume red, green, and brown algae, with a preference for fleshier red kinds. Although their diet varies depending on variables, Garibaldi on average are thought to feed mostly on such macroalgae, anemones, annelids, and sponges; they also consume sessile and other benthic animals, including arthropods, molluscs and brittlestars. Such an animal is best categorised as a generalist and an omnivore, so they should not be problematic to feed in the home aquarium, although based on studies of wild Garibaldis, their diet should have a little more animal protein than vegetable matter.