Any Butterflyfish recommendations for a beginner?

[Fiish]

As of 2 days ago, I've given up on the idea of having a butterfly for my first tank. I'll only go as far as a dwarf angel. Butterflies I'll save them for the future when I get a larger system and more experience.

You have made a good choice, I definitely would not put any butterflyfish as a beginner fish, they are all very sensitive to water quality, if you have no water quality or a mature tank either reef or FOWLR just your fish it will not prosper. Dwarf angels are also not easy to keep fish but if you quarantine and offer a considerable amount of food then you will be successful, and don't forget the quality of the water. Good luck.

 

[Zionas]

Thanks. I'll stick to tougher species for now.

Edit: Today I came across a fish called the Australian Stripey. From the info I found it seems to be a far easier alternative to Butterflyfish. I wonder if anyone's got experience with this fish. I know it gets to about the same size as some of the smaller butterflies. Would two or three work in a 4 foot tank? How frequently are they available?

 

[Fiish]

It's definitely an easier fish to take care of than a butterfly, but I am not sure of its size, maybe you can try a trio but I'm not sure what size it will reach and if you can leave your tank without the possibility of adding more fish, in my opinion, you have a good tank size to hold a trio, assuming they reach a size of 5 "or 6"

 

[Zionas]

LiveAquaria says they get to 6" maximum.

 

[ThRoewer]

LiveAquaria says they get to 6" maximum.

Not saying that they are wrong in this case but I would be extremely careful with the information you find on LiveAquaria. I found a lot of incorrect info in their species descriptions. It's best to verify everything you find there (and elsewhere) with a second, independent source.

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