Hawaiian Dascyllus

Length up to 12.5 cm, dark gray to black, but centers of scales on body are whitish.

Associated with coral reefs, most usually in shallow, protected waters. swim in shallow water surface to 20 feet below in small openings.

Dascyllus albisella are a relatively passive species that spends most of their time foraging. Normally, males are the more aggressive of the two genders as they are the ones that usually exhibit parental care. While male aggressiveness is expected, males exhibit sole care of the offspring unlike most animals. This is due to the uniparental nature of Dascyllus albisella. This does not indicate that the females are not present whatsoever. Nor does this show that the females only have a duty to lay the eggs. In cases where the male is not present, females may develop more aggressiveness depending on the situation. As we can see, females do not desert the nest after mating. Females that are larger are more likely to defend the nest in the absence of the male than smaller females. That being said, the nest is defended most frequently by females that were born at that nest. This does not apply to all the females. Some females, even when raised at the nest will not defend the nest regardless. This increased aggressiveness is more favored towards the larger females, however the correlation isn't terribly strong between size and nest defense. There is only a tendency for larger fish to defend. In another case when both parents are present, the female will display increased aggressiveness when predation levels increase. …