Hermatypic corals form the foundation of most coral reef ecosystems and provide critical habitat for hundreds of species of coral associated fishes. Recent decades have seen a decline in the abundance and areal cover of branching Acroporid corals along the north shore of Moorea, French Polynesia. To explore how differences in the abundance and structural aspects of the habitat provided by Acroporid corals may influence associated fish communities, I measured several physical attributes of 185 staghorn coral patches (Acropora pulchra) and surveyed all associated fishes during the austral winter of 2008. Physical attributes measured included the size and depth of each patch, and patches were classified by their position in the lagoon, occurring as part of the fringing reef or within the lagoon, and their distance from the shore and reef crest. Patches on the fringing reef were greater in area, on average, than patches found in the lagoon. Collectively, large and small patches of staghorn coral were found to provide habitat for 70 species of fishes, ranging from 0-26 species per patch; just over 10% of the total fish diversity reported from French Polynesia. Both species richness and absolute abundance were decelerating, but not saturating, functions of total patch area over the range of patch sizes observed in this study. These patterns suggest that the larger patches of Acroporid coral that existed in the recent past may have supported an even greater number of associated individuals and fish species richness than that observed today. Patterns observed in this study provide insight into how fishes might respond to continually decreasing cover of Acroporid coral, or an increase in cover following recovery or restoration.