Garibaldi
are the largest of the 240 members of the damselfish family, growing
to an average of ten to twelve inches and a maximum length of fourteen
inches. They are brilliant orange, and their name derives from an
Italian army leader, Guiseppie Garibaldi, whose troops wore brightly
colored tunics. Garibaldi live in the Pacific off of southern California
and Mexico in rocky shallows and kelp beds, where they feed on algae,
mollusks, worms, and sponges. They are extremely territorial and
have been known to attack SCUBA divers that get too close to their
nests. In early March when the spawning season begins, a male garibaldi
will spend a month building an algae nest ranging in size from one
foot to ten feet square and then performs a unique fish dance around
it to attract a mate. Garibaldi are edible, but not the target of
any major fisheries. They are captured for home and institutional
aquarium markets.