butterflies in reefs

:deadhorse1: Ich that's sad....
Did you try clams on the half shell??
Joeri, I got ich in the tank and they died within a few days. (ich hit last week) However, my friend still has his and its living off of mysis shrimp

I've got a spotfin now, but am having trouble getting him to eat food. He nips at the rocks and food occaisonaly, and some of my palys (theres plenty and hes not doing damage). Any ideas?
 
I let my Mitratus go in my reef a couple days ago. So far he has been completely safe, pretty much tasted everything at first but no damage. He eats everything and even fought back with my tangs and showed them he won't be bullied.

Well he decided yesterday that green slimmer tasted good, I'm not removing him but he is being watched., luckily I got slimmer to spare.
 
Anyone successfully treat a butterfly with red sores on its mouth (maybe some bacterial infection)? I had a fish develop the same symptoms in my display tank 6-12 months ago. His mouth got worse and worse until he died from not being able to eat. The fish I have now is in qt, and I just added green power to treat but I'm not very hopeful.

My fish is still eating and hasn't lost any weight but I'm afraid that when I stop medicating the sores will get worse and the fish will eventually die from not being able to eat :(

I created a thread in the disease forum with some poor pics:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=21419605#post21419605

If anyone has any idea about what I can do to treat this I would be extremely grateful. So far I've tried nitrofuracin green power, pimafix/melafix, Furan-2. Poor fish, I feel like I'm conducting a science experiment. :deadhorse1:
 
Ed call national fish pharmacy, they are local and can recommend treatments as well as sale you meds. Being local they get stuff out to you pretty fast also.
 
I recently began switching my tank over to a butterfly dominated display. The only coral left were some brown palythoa (referred to locally as texas trash palys). The three butterflyfish in the tank are a yellow longnose (F. flavissimus), a copperband (C. rostratus), and a latticed (C. rafflesi). The longnose and copperband quickly cleared out all the small tube worms, and the latticed seems to enjoy eating the tentacles off the palythoa, as well picking at the astraea snails. All three devour mysid, brine, clam, mussel, and blackworms, and the longnose and latticed love pellets as well.
 
Wow this thread is still going! 41 pages!

I've been gone for more than a year because of my enlistment into the army. my old account is gone forever because i forgot the user name, pass, and the e-mail i used to create it. this has happened two me twice already! i really need a brain transplant. i'm the original TS for this thread.
it's so nice to see the discussions going on and on! amazing.

i'm starting another tank soon, and yes, mixed reef with butterflies. this time i'm gonna try different species that i've not kept before in my previous set up.

Peter, i'm glad you're still around and keeping butterflies. i'm sure i've been missing out on alot in the past year!
 
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I tried a cooperband just for aptasias, but they never eat and never touch the aptasias.

I like the butterflies a lot, but I dpn´t know if I can take the risk or not.

:P
 
I put some Heniochus in my reef, was rather surprised when they ate my aiptasia! Good side effect :)

I know I won't be able to keep them in my reef longterm, but until they start munching corals they'll stay in. 4 H. acuminatus, mixed reef of SPS/LPS.
 
Peter, i'm glad you're still around and keeping butterflies. i'm sure i've been missing out on alot in the past year!

Thanks... it's more enjoyable for me to have them in my FOWLR and not have to worry about them in a reef. Butterflies can be enough trouble as it is :D
 
Wow this thread is still going! 41 pages!

I've been gone for more than a year because of my enlistment into the army. my old account is gone forever because i forgot the user name, pass, and the e-mail i used to create it. this has happened two me twice already! i really need a brain transplant. i'm the original TS for this thread.
it's so nice to see the discussions going on and on! amazing.

i'm starting another tank soon, and yes, mixed reef with butterflies. this time i'm gonna try different species that i've not kept before in my previous set up.

Peter, i'm glad you're still around and keeping butterflies. i'm sure i've been missing out on alot in the past year!

Welcome back. You should have used the word Lemon in your new name. Hint - write the account info down in a couple of places. :)
 
Thanks... it's more enjoyable for me to have them in my FOWLR and not have to worry about them in a reef. Butterflies can be enough trouble as it is :D

I agree.

my new tank will be up next week. so i'm pretty excited.
i have an australian truncatus butterfly in QT now who is eating mysis.

Welcome back. You should have used the word Lemon in your new name. Hint - write the account info down in a couple of places. :)

thanks!

indeed. this time my account will be here to stay. my user and password is IDIOT-PROOF. :bounce1:
 
Ok, it's probably been covered somewhere in this thread, I have tried searching it, but it's just too long.

I'm looking at a falcula butterfly for my reef. 150 gallons, 5 feet in length.

The reef currently consists of a few SPS frags that are growing quickly (recently added a calcium reactor as kalkwasser consumption had become silly) and one trumpet coral. I was thinking of adding also a hammer coral.

The rest of the stock is:
Selection of snails
6 cleaner shrimps
1 pair of coral banded shrimps
1 pair of pistol shrimps
2 tuxedo urchins
1 heteractis magnifica
1 lawmmower blenny
1 pair of randall's gobies
1 pair of percula clowns
1 pair of coral beauties
4 firefish
4 flasher wrasse
1 yellow tang

Plus a numerous population of feather dusters.

Would a falcula butterfly be ok in my tank and would my tank be ok with a falcula?

Should I go for the smallest in the shop or for a larger one?

Same questions again for an ulietensis butterfly.
 
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I would consider the feather dusters toast with those two and would expect them to be pretty hard on corals for the most part. If you try it, be prepared to take action.
 
My falcula didn't go after the few corals I tried in my tank. I think they are considered to be hit or miss. My ulitensis went after just about all corals I tried. I don't have any more corals in the tank.
 
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