The threespot dascyllus (''Dascyllus trimaculatus''), also known as the domino damsel or simply domino, is a species of

damselfish Damselfish are those within the subfamilies Abudefdufinae, Chrominae, Lepidozyginae, Pomacentrinae, and Stegastenae within the family Pomacentridae. Most species within this group are relatively small, with the largest species being about ...

from the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Pomacentridae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific from the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

and East Africa, to the

Pitcairn The Pitcairn Islands (; Pitkern: '), officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, is a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four is ...

Islands, southern Japan, and Australia, and can also be found in some parts of the Philippines. Its grey to black body has two lateral white spots and one between the eyes like domino hence the name; the threespot dascyllus grows up to 13 cm in length. Coloration is somewhat variable; the spot on the forehead may be absent and the lateral spots very much reduced. It feeds on algae, copepods and other

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucia ...

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group can ...

s.Allen, G.R., 1991. Damselfishes of the world. Mergus Publishers, Melle, Germany. 271 p.

Habitat

Generally, adults are found in small groups around

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...

heads or large rocks. Juveniles may be found

associated Associated may refer to: *Associated, former name of Avon, Contra Costa County, California * Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto, a school in Canada *Associated Newspapers, former name of DMG Media, a British publishing company See also *Associati ...

with large sea anemones or sheltering between the spines of diadema sea urchins or branching corals.Lieske, E. and Myers, R.F. (2004) ''Coral reef guide; Red Sea'' London, HarperCollins This species may be found to depths of 55 m.

Etymology

''Trimaculatus'', meaning "three-spotted", refers to the fish's three white spots. This accounts also for the common name "domino".Siliotti, A. (2002) ''fishes of the red sea'' Verona, Geodia File:Dascyllus trimaculatus Domino damsel.jpg, Threespot dascyllus and anthias grouping over coral near

Taba, Egypt Taba ( ar, طابا ', ) is an Egyptian town near the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba. Taba is the location of Egypt's busiest border crossing with neighboring Eilat, Israel. Taba was originally developed as a tourist destination by the Israelis ...

File:Juvenile Three Spot Dascyllus and Blackfoot Anemone Fish.jpg, A pair of juvenile three-spot dascylluses with their anemone in the Maldives: A pair of black-foot anemonefish can be seen to the top. File:Maldive anemonefish.jpg, Juvenile threespot dascyllus (left) and a pair of Maldives anemonefish associated with the sea anemone '' Heteractis magnifica''

In aquarium

During the juvenile period, they live with the sea anemone. They grow fast and can grow up to 14 cm in length in a large fish tank. People who like big fish may raise a pair of small Threespot to observe their growth.Youtube <> Creatures section, Damselfish - Author:Sublanding Fish 020-06-19/ref>

References

External links

* trimaculatus Fish of the Red Sea Fish described in 1829 Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN {{Pomacentridae-stub