This fish that can be found swimming alone or in small groups, usually in the vicinity of reefs between 2 and 40 m deep. Juveniles tend to stay among corals or in crevices. They feed on hydroids, fish eggs, small crustaceans and parts of echinoderms. They have an intense yellow colouring and an elongated mouth with which they capture prey hidden in crevices. They have a dark stripe on their head that hides the eye so that predators have trouble calculating their real size.

Like other butterfly fish, they have a spot on the lower part of the caudal fin that acts as a false eye, confusing potential predators.

Conservation status