butterflies in reefs

Update:angryfire::
allready lost about 7 fish in de DT....including goldflake/moorish idol/ guttatissimus/epphipium/quadrimaculatus/Holocanthus Tricolor/.... have a very serious outbreak of velvet...this happened because I bought the last 2 butterflies(guttatissimus and rafflesi) and put them in the tank without proper QT(just one week):headwally::headwally:
I will never make this mistake again that's for sure:uzi:...the fish that survived are free of symptoms for a couple of days by now.
There was nothing to see on the fish...exept for very heavy breathing and next day dead....very high mortality....hard lesson in fishkeeping:rolleyes:
 
Sorry to hear stuifbol, unfortunately B/F's don't handle it very well. The one time I've experienced velvet with B/F I lost all 5 B/F's in the qt. Are you treating with copper, and at what level?

I am now treating my entire tank with copper. I was doing tank transfer and I didn't observe for long enough. Somehow it snuck past into my DT. Maybe cross contamination but I don't think so. I'm going to treat at 0.35-0.4 for a month. From now on every fish will be treated with cupramine at 0.35-0.4 for a month.
 
Ed,
Indeed BF are very sensitive fish....not with copper....got something new from my LFS..don't know what it is...he calls it triple-X:rolleyes: he won't give me more info on the product,I think It's something he mixed himself....when I put it in the water,the water colors fluorescent green(malachitegreen??)in combination with something else????No copper in it because I can't measure it not even after dosing
It works for sure because after a couple of hours I could see great improvement on the fish and after 2 days they where healthy like a fish in the water:dance: have to wait a couple of weeks now to see if they stay healthy
grtz
jjk_reef00 said:
Sorry to hear stuifbol, unfortunately B/F's don't handle it very well. The one time I've experienced velvet with B/F I lost all 5 B/F's in the qt. Are you treating with copper, and at what level?

I am now treating my entire tank with copper. I was doing tank transfer and I didn't observe for long enough. Somehow it snuck past into my DT. Maybe cross contamination but I don't think so. I'm going to treat at 0.35-0.4 for a month. From now on every fish will be treated with cupramine at 0.35-0.4 for a month.
Click to expand...
 
Glad to hear you didn't lose everything, Joeri, which is VERY possible with velvet. I've learned my lessons... when keeping that many butterflies, QT is a must... for all things wet!

I'll have to get some updated shots... so far I've moved the muelleri, declivis, fasciatus, paucifasciatus, rainfordi, and ephippium into the new 240.

Next up, the collare, semilarvatus, and pelewensis/punctatofasciatus hybrid will get transferred.

I don't think the melannotus is going to stay... he's pretty aggressive, and I'm not a huge fan of his overall look/body shape. Plus, I want a falcula, and along with the lineolatus, I'll have enough those patterns and colors.

The lineolatus is growing quickly... I may hold off on adding him to the mix until last.
 
Last edited:
Thnx Peter....learned my lesson to now the hard way:headwalls:
I'm most sad by losing the goldflake and the zanclus....the others are also a sad,but everybody has his favorites...
Sounds like a good plan with your 240....although I think you might run in to agression issues between a falcula and lineolatus because they look similar??
I'm surprised of the Melannotus...was thinking of adding one like that:spin1:
Added Macropharyngodon Meleagris and bipartitus
SDguy said:
Glad to hear you didn't lose everything, Joeri, which is VERY possible with velvet. I've learned my lessons... when keeping that many butterflies, QT is a must... for all things wet!

I'll have to get some updated shots... so far I've moved the muelleri, declivis, fasciatus, paucifasciatus, rainfordi, and ephippium into the new 240.

Next up, the collare, semilarvatus, and pelewensis/punctatofasciatus hybrid will get transferred.

I don't think the melannotus is going to stay... he's pretty aggressive, and I'm not a huge fan of his overall look/body shape. Plus, I want a falcula, and along with the lineolatus, I'll have enough those patterns and colors.

The lineolatus is growing quickly... I may hold off on adding him to the mix until last.
Click to expand...
 
stuifbol said:
....although I think you might run in to agression issues between a falcula and lineolatus because they look similar??
Click to expand...

I thought the same thing. We'll just have to see, since the falcula is a favorite of mine from many years ago.
 
Some of the survivors:bounce2:
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Has anyone successfully kept ornamental clams with their "reef safe" butterflyfish? I'm hesitant to purchase one with my Muelleri, who I feed littleneck clam to. I don't want this addition to remind me of the time years ago when I put a cleaner shrimp in with my hawkfish.
 
Well, my 120 is becoming more and more of a not so reef safe tank. I have an angel and butterfly bug and I want to keep both in this 120. I was curious as to how well butterflies would mix in a 120. Top two are C. collare and C. declivis. How well would they mix together in a 120 being they are in the same genus?
 
Kyle,
mixing them won't be the problem.....how many and what other fish do you have in the 120???

PS:Finally after weeks and weeks of trying to figure out what was wrong with my fish and various copper treatments and other medications,I tried Prazipro
(used a similar product) by SDGuy's suggestion and the fish where back healthy after 1 day:lol2: they stopped scratching themself against the rocks....so many thanx to Peter for the tip...couldn't figure out what was wrong?????Will do some filtering over activated carbon and 90% water change for now and we are back in business:thumbsup:
 
The 120 is just about ready to start cycling. I have some general ideas of what I want, but can make changes as needed.

5- flasher wrasses or anthias
3- flame angels
1- Fijian midnight blue angel
1- Pakistan butterfly
1- tinkerii, marginalis, or copperband (reading as much as I can about CBBs)

A mandarin pair was planned, but with a CBB or marginalis, I don't want that much competition for pods.
 
Peter, where do you think I should add in the stock list? The midnight blue angel is going to be first as I already have it. Should I add them before the flames and after the wrasses/anthias? Also, with a collare and declivis, would you and them in that order or the opposite?
 
I don't think the order of the butterflies matters too much. I think they are equal in their personalities, IME. Only thing I would say is that Declivis are better feeders. Collare can be difficult, so the collare first might be my choice, if I had to pick.

I'll let someone else tackle the dwarf angel questions...
 
I have been treating my declivis and semilarvatus for ich with Chloroquine Phosphate and they have gone through the treatment with flying colors. Just an FYI for those looking to use something besides copper.
 
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