Fun Flagtail Facts For Kids

Flagtails are a family of ray-finned fishes in genus Kuhlia, mainly found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Some of the flagfin are freshwater fishes, too, like the 'flagtail prochilodus.'

Flagfin are mostly omnivorous fishes which eat almost everything starting from vegetables and aquatic plants, algae, insects, larvae, and smaller fish as well. They are mostly silver in color with orangish fins.

Their tail is orange in color with black horizontal stripes, which seems like a flag in water. Their body size is around 10.8 in (27.5 cm), and their weight is around 1.2 lb (560 g).

Now, this was just the introduction. Ahead in the article, there are more interesting and funny facts available on this type of species.

And for more similar articles, read our bony fish facts and half black angel fish facts for kids.

Flagtail Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a flagtail?

Flagtails are fish species whose habitat belong to Indian and Pacific Ocean. Flagtail is the name of a family of mostly marine fish in the genus Kuhlia.

What class of animal does a flagtail belong to?

Flagtail fish species belong to the class Actinopterygii, order Perciformes, family Kuhliidae and genus Kuhlia. They are Perca ciliate-type species.

How many flagtails are there in the world?

Flagtail species of fish are found in the free waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Flagtail prochilodus (scientifically known as Semaprochilodus insignis) are also kept in a freshwater aquarium. The distribution range of flagtail fish species is widespread in their aquatic habitat so counting them in numbers is not really possible.

Where does a flagtail live?

Flagtail fish species in the oceans. They are found in the free waters enjoying and swimming of their will. They also live in tanks with soft water. Flagtail prochilodus (Semaprochilodus insignis) are kept in aquarium.

What is a flagtail's habitat?

Falgtail fishes are non-aggressive, peaceful aquatic animals who are found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. They are few inches in length and feed on algae and other stuff.

Who does flagtail live with?

Flagtail species are very much social and reside in groups. They can be seen swimming in groups in search of food. They are omnivorous fish that feed on anything that is edible.

How long does a flagtail live?

Flagtail prochilodus (Semaprochilodus insignis) live up to 5-10 years in an aquarium and feed on anything. They are fresh water fishes. Even the marine flagtail species live up to the same range.

How do they reproduce?

There are very little information available on their reproduction. Flagtail prochilodus (Semaprochilodus insignis) are critical migratory breeders. Even making them breed in an aquarium is very tough. It takes an experienced aquarist to make them breed. Adult flagtail is very beautiful.

What is their conservation status?

Flagtail is a family of fish. Most of them, like the barred flagtail, are the Least Concern species, whereas a few of them are less in number. They happed in both the wild and in an aquarium.

Flagtail Fun Facts

What does flagtail look like?

Flagtail are a type of fish species that are few inches long and possess a non-aggressive behavior. Some of them are brightly colored like the cichlids while others are a bit mundane looking like Semaprochilodus taeniurus.

Flagtail prochilodus are average-looking aquarium fish. Body of all flagtail species are glossy and shiny just the colors are different.

Cichlids are multi-colored (mostly yellow) fish like the flagfin angel while flagtail prochilodus and Semaprochilodus taeniurus have a silver-colored bodies with beautiful fins. Dorsal fin in cichlid fishes are big and long extending to the tail. Adult Flagtail Prochilodus have orange-colored fins.

The tail fin in all flagtail fishes are mostly orange or silver in color with black horizontal stripes. Flagtails are small fishes that grow to a length range of around 10.8 in (27.5 cm) and their weight varies around 1.2 lb (560 g).

How cute are they?

Flagfin fishes are very cute and adorable. They are not that large fish. Flagtail can stay in both the sea and aquarium. In the aquarium, what they need the most is some care and attention.

How do they communicate?

Flagtail are peaceful fish species that can live in both the ocean and aquarium. As we all know, fish can't communicate through vocalization.

They take the help of body language for communicating with each other. They also release chemicals like pheromones for marking their presence. All fish have their lateral line segment organ for reading even the minute of disturbance that happens in water.

How big is a flagtail?

Flagtail fish like Jaraqui, flagtail prochilodus, and Semaprochilodus taeniurus are small fish species. They are found in wild and can also stay in an aquarium. The average flagtail size is around 10.8 in (27.5 cm) and their weight is around 1.2 lb (560 g).

How fast can a flagtail swim?

There is no exact information available on their swimming speed but we can assume that they are agile fishes.

How much does a flagtail weigh?

Flagtail are peaceful fish species that have an omnivorous diet. Their average length is around 10.8 in (27.5 cm) and their average weight is around 1.2 lb (560 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no specific names assigned to male and female fishes in this genus. They have their own particular name.

What would you call a baby flagtail?

Like all other baby fishes, flagtail babies are also known as fry or young ones. There are very few information available on flagtail breeding procedure.

What do they eat?

Flagtail fishes enjoy an omnivorous diet like the angelfish. As food, they consume anything that is edible. Their diet consists of food such as soft-leaved greens, vegetable matter, fallen food, algae, smaller fish, crustaceans, and insects.

Are they poisonous?

Not really. Flagtail are devoid of any poison. They are also kept in the aquarium as pets. They are mostly peaceful fish species that enjoy an omnivorous diet. They cause no harm to humans and are not dangerous.

Would they make a good pet?

Yes, they do. But the aquarist must be experienced. Pet flagtails like prochilodus and Semaprochilodus taeniurus are hard to keep and cause tantrums. Feeding them is at least easier as they eat most types of food.

Did you know...

Flagtail fishes do not bite humans.

Flagtail prochilodus adults live in tanks with more than 120 gal (424.2 l) water capacity.

How to care for pregnant flagtail guppies?

A guppy will easily crossbreed with a flagtail to form a flagtail guppy. One of the most beautiful flagtails is the flagtail guppy who needs a lot of care when pregnant. The best care you can do is to separate the pregnant female from the community tank and leave them alone in a separate breeding tank.

Do humans eat them?

Not really. They are too pretty to eat. Humans love having them in their aquarium as pets and not in their stomachs as food. Flagtails are found in the Indo-Pacific region.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other fishes from our parrotfish facts and tilefish facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable flagfin angel coloring pages.

Both images by Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble