Neoglyphidodon crossi – Cross’ Damsel
Neoglyphidodon crossi was first described by Allen in 1991. This species is part of the family Pomacentridae, the family of
The genus Neoglyphidodon has eight species. They all have a beautiful juvenile dress which unfortunately disappears as the animals matures.
Description
As a juvenile, Neoglyphidodon crossi – Cross’ Damsel is a very pretty little fish. They are red/orange in color and from the tip of the nose runs above the eye along a beautiful blue iridescent stripe to the top of the tail root. A small blue stripe under the eye completes the picture.
Unfortunately, the colors fade as the fish ages. Adult specimens are dull dark brown. Only the edges of the fins sometimes show a very thin blue line. The photos that web shops often show are actually always those of juvenile animals.
Neoglyphidodon crossi can reach a total length of about 12 centimeters, making them fairly large for a Damsel.
Diet
In the aquarium, Neoglyphidodon crossi is not a picky eater. They eat both live and frozen food but flakes and granules are also usually eagerly eaten.
The Aquarium
Because this species grows fairly large a fairly large aquarium is required, think at least about 600 liters. During the day they usually swim around in the open water. They do need live rock or corals among which they can shelter and sleep.
Juveniles are not aggressive. When the Cross Damsel gets older it will also start defending a territory. When defending their territory they are aggressive towards all other species. You can keep them as a shoal but only together with other reasonably assertive fish that can bite off such as doctor fish, trigger fish and for example Grammas.
It is a species that is reasonably hardy and easy to keep. They are also definitely reefsafe. However, given the color and degree of aggression of adults it is unlikely that you would want to place Neoglyphidodon crossi in your aquarium .
Reproduction
They have succeeded in captive breeding. The young are regularly offered in stores.
Video
Author
John de Lange
Copyright images
Mark Rosenstein – CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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