[chriss]

Probably some of the most beautiful fish you can find around a reef, they can make a great addition to your tank and be real centre piece fish, I think it's a great shame we don't see more of them available, but then their lack of popularity makes them all the more attractive!

Most people tend to avoid these due to the horror stories of them munching their way thru LPS/SPS/Zoas or whatever, but with careful selection and good feeding there are many varieties that can make excellent tank mates that make a change to the more commonly seen fish.

How any one fish behaves in _your_ tank, be it a butterfly, tang or hawkfish cannot be guaranteed, the best you can do is research to get a general view of how a fish is likely to behave. Some are more predictable than others, but the likes of butterflies can require a closer look and this is where I feel a lot of people are put off.

The most destructive thing I've had in my tank, other than my clumsy arm, were my Regal tangs. Whether they were purposely decapitating my acros or crashing into them accidently I was never sure, but they kept supply me with a good source of frags.

The occasional nip at a coral isn't always going to result in it's demise, given plenty of corals and assuming it's otherwise healthy the chances are it'll be fine. Look at how they get hacked up on frag night, but they soon heal up. It only becomes a problem if a fish decides to persistantly hammer the corals.

Probably the most commonly seen butterfly is the Copperband which is generally accepted as fairly SPS/LPS safe in most situations, but it's common, mainly for it's usefulness against Aiptasia.

Personally I have a Copperband, a Zoster and a Forcipiger longirostris (giant long nosed) in my sps/lps tank and can say they have never so much as winked at the corals and adapt very easily to aquarium feeding. The Copperband and Long nosed are the fussiest and won't take any pellets but are more than happy with mysis and brine.

When choosing a butterfly, pick one that has a reasonable track record. I find searching Reef Central to be a good source of butterfly experiences.

When you get your butterfly home swamp it with mysis/brine enriched with immuvit/lipovit. You should find that it will quickly take to this nice tasty grub and ignore those stinky old SPS.

If you get one from Jas, then Lindsay will have been feeding it like this before hand to get them nice and fat and addicted to mysis.


Looking at the recent Maldives fish list Jason had, I've picked out these as being good candidates for general reef tanks...

Chaetodon auriga LPS friendly
[img]http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:1ef4D5fXcILLvM:http://fins.actwin.com/pics/Chaetodon_auriga2.jpg[/img]

Chaetodon bennetti Gorg friendly
[img]http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:1gM3Mvm3B7sePM:http://dereksreefshop.ca/store/images/butterflybennet.jpg[/img]

Chaetodon citrinellus SPS friendly
[img]http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:hpxLeFu0TG3bPM:http://www.ryanphotographic.com/images/JPEGS/Chaetodon%20citrinellus%20Speckled%20butterflyfish,%20Fiji,%202005.jpg[/img]

Chaetodon collare NOT SPS friendly
[img]http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:CEse65tKQJrMcM:http://animal-world.com/encyclo/marine/butter/images/PakistaniButterflyfishWMBu_Ap8SBu.jpg[/img]

Chaetodon falcula NOT SPS friendly
[img]http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:xGuWp042nZKAaM:http://www.ageofaquariums.biz/butrfly3.jpg[/img]

Chaetodon guttatissimus SPS friendly
[img]http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:NsxAzoc8koRiuM:http://animal-world.com/encyclo/marine/butter/images/PepperedButterflyfishWMBu_Ap15AD.jpg[/img]

Chaetodon kleinii SPS friendly
[img]http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:leNB6Mdh_g_sZM:http://seafishes.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/1-chaetodon-kleinii-kleins-butterflyfish.jpg[/img]

Hemitaurichthys zoster - very friendly and eats a lot!
[img]http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:gFSw44FpfTLN7M:http://content9.eol.org/content/2009/05/19/13/94788_large.jpg[/img]

Additionally they list these, but I haven't found out much about them yet...

Chaetodon madagaskariensis ??
Chaetodon melannotus ??
Chaetodon mitratus (most likely SPS friendly)
Chaetodon plebeius ??
Chaetodon interruptus ??

So, if you fancy one then let Jas know asap since I think he is doing another Maldives fish list very soon.

Chris

[chriss]

Other reef safe butterflies include...

Hemitaurichthys polylepis - Yellow Pyramid butterfly
[img]http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:2lEH3tfR1wncVM:http://www.ryanphotographic.com/images/JPEGS/Hemitaurichthys%20polylepis%20Pyramid%20butterflyfish.jpg[/img] [img] Prognathodes aculeatus [img]http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:Z82RJ_dnzF_MwM:http://content4.eol.org/content/2008/10/06/18/50201_large.jpg[/img]

Prognathodes brasiliensis
[img]http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ijNqXDZLjB5bOM:http://glassbox-design.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Prognathodes-basiliensis.jpg[/img]

Prognathodes aya
[img]http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:x-_AbLa4oYoRsM:http://www.ezmarines.com/user/cimage/Miami070202001.jpg[/img]

[chriss]

As an overall guide, I use this list before doing any other googling/research...

Soft Coral Safe Butterflyfishes
Chaetodon auriga
Chaetodon baronessa
Chaetodon falcula
Chaetodon guttatissimus
Chaetodon humeralis
Chaetodon multicinctus
Chaetodon octofasciatus
Chaetodon plebeius
Chaetodon punctatofasciatus
Chaetodon rafflesi
Chaetodon xanthurus
Chelmon marginalis
Forcipiger flavissimus
Hemitaurichthys zoster
Prognathodes aya

Stony Coral Safe Butterflyfishes
Chaetodon citrinellus
Chaetodon guttatissimus
Chaetodon humeralis
Chaetodon kleinii
Chaetodon litus
Chaetodon mertensii
Chaetodon rafflesi
Chaetodon reticulatus
Chaetodon smithi
Chaetodon trichrous
Chaetodon tinkeri
Chaetodon wiebeli
Chaetodon xanthocephalus
Forcipiger longirostris
Hemitaurichthys polylepis
Hemitaurichthys zoster
Heniochus chrysostomus
Heniochus diphreutes
Prognathodes aculeatus
Prognathodes aya
Prognathodes brasiliensis

Gorgonian Safe Butterflyfishes
Chaetodon baronessa
Chaetodon bennetti
Chaetodon collare
Chaetodon ephippium
Chaetodon fremblii
Chaetodon kleinii
Chaetodon guttatissimus
Chaetodon miliaris
Chaetodon meyeri
Chaetodon nippon
Chaetodon octofasciatus
Chaetodon punctatofasciatus
Chaetodon vagabundis
Heniochus acuminatus
Heniochus chrysostomus
Heniochus varius
Hemitaurichthys zoster
Parachaetodon ocellatus

[jason@jasonsaquatics]

Top List there Chris

I have a few of these on the next order list so all being well we may have a few more for you to take a look at as we know you like the Butterfly fish .

Anything on the Angel fish front that you think may be a go go ,if you have pm me them


jas

[karnivor]

A nice read Chris, but I'm not gonna comment further

It would make a nice Sticky too.

[jason@jasonsaquatics]

Good idea Tony ,i think a sticky would be a top idea chris .

Top pic is a stunner Chris ,,good find


jas

[chriss]

karnivor, on Jun 9 2010, 05:37 PM, said:

A nice read Chris, but I'm not gonna comment further

Go on, go on, go on, which are you going to get?

Chris

[dave14]

Good list there Chris, thanks for posting

[jason@jasonsaquatics]

Go on tony just the first few letters lol

jas

[lindsay]

I like the top picture,fantastic picture.

[Blacktip]

Is the Falcula hard to keep? I've been wanting one for ages in my FO. My concern is that the water won't be reef grade with nitrates at about 25ppm. It would be with a Majestic angel and a radiata.

[chriss]

Blacktip, on Jun 10 2010, 02:33 PM, said:

Is the Falcula hard to keep? I've been wanting one for ages in my FO. My concern is that the water won't be reef grade with nitrates at about 25ppm. It would be with a Majestic angel and a radiata.

Not speaking from personal experience, but from what I gather, providing it comes in healthy and is eating, then it's no more difficult than a tang. I've seen a couple at in a shop and they were nice and active and eating well, unfortunately not safe enough for my reef. Check out Reef Central to see what they have to say on there.

Chris

[lindsay]

Well if you want any on the list chris has added pm me as i maybe able to get on the next fish order

jas

[bobba fett]

I had a burgess, fantastic fish, reef safe AND eats aiptasia!!

[chriss]

Thanks for that Dave, it's good to hear whos had what.

Chris

[tommo]

Always a good idea worming/ de fluking any Bfly on arrival into the country. they are usually crawling. Its also best to train them to feed outside of a display aquarium environment!

Watch out for bacterial infections too!!!

[chriss]

tommo, on Jun 14 2010, 10:30 PM, said:

Always a good idea worming/ de fluking any Bfly on arrival into the country. they are usually crawling. Its also best to train them to feed outside of a display aquarium environment!

Watch out for bacterial infections too!!!

Would you worm/de-fluke them as a matter of course, regardless of whether they are showing any affliction or not?

It did go thru my mind when Jas got me the Zoster and Long Nosed, I was thinking about what I would need to do this, but at the same time I was afraid that not doing it correctly or keeping them in a suitable environment would cause more harm than good. Training to feed separately was also a concern, but the Zoster ate like a pig from the moment Lindsay opened the bag and the LN wasn't far behind.

Could you elaborate on how the home aquarist should go about worming/de-fluking these fish, what to use, what to look for, when NOT to do it, how long to treat, environment to treat them in, how long does the treatment take, is the treatment something that can be done in a bucket for half an hour and then the fish transferred to a qt/display tank etc, as much detail as you can that would be appreciated. As I mentioned before, my concern is doing more harm than good.

Thanks

Chris

[tommo]

Butterflies should always be wormed and de fluked as a matter of course regardless of the presence or absence of any symptoms, which range from everything from good appetance with weight loss, cloudy eyes, hyperplasia of certain areas (overgrowth of tissue) rapid breathing rates, lack of appetite, flicking, rocking, and even vitamin deficiencies (poor growth rate and disfigurement) and uncharacteristic adverse behaviour towards invertebrates (ie coral eating in species that should eat polychaetes)

The best way to go about this is to use good old Kusuri wormer. Marine flukes havent built up a resistance to this and as long as its done in three doses five days apart it should do the job wonderfully.

Generally its the more hard work butterflies i'd recommend the 'off display' feeding training methods for. This can be combined with the above in a quarantine tank. Of course water quality must always be excellent. butterflies are incredibly unforgiving. most fish will be content with a good 60 litres (24x15x12 inches) to play in with a couple of non live hidey holes, a decent matured internal filter and an airstone.

Vibrio and Pseudomonas bacteria can be a problem with damaged newly imported specimens. look for damage. Avoid it! Its also worth totally avoiding live brine shrimp with new imports if possible (pending feeding responses of course) as these carry vibrio in massive numbers.
There is little to treat these apart from maybe formalin (dodgy at the best of times) and copper (which butterflies hate) and various malachite/ methlylene/ potassium combinations or herbal potions (not as bad as it sounds) of commoner branded medications. If the infection is systemic however (watch out for haemmoraging, deep set ulcers and blood streaks) then the fish is doomed without antibiotics, which, unless the fish is a chain mail or at least an addis cost more to organise than the fish itself would cost to replace.

zosterae and Forcipiger spp. are usually impeccable eaters, the latter tends to suffer more from internal problems, the former can occasionally be prone to velvet (Amyloodinium ocellatum) when it first comes into the UK which results directly from stress but is unusual if trace copper (and i emphasize trace) is used in holding systems. - watch out for lack of balance as oodinium seems to favour the swim bladder in zosterae resulting in a sinking and doomed fish!

HTH

Tom

[tommo]

C madagaskariensis are semi coral safe ( somewhere between falcula and copperbands)

C. melanotus are really hardy for B flies but not the most coral safe

C. Mitratus- like burgessi really.

C. plebius- not obligate, very very hard work in captivity but absolutely stunning

C. interruptus- bit like plebius, maybee not as bad but certainly not as pretty

HTH

Tom

[jason@jasonsaquatics]

Top Post Tommo

Thanks m8 ,anymore info will be well appreciated

jas