Butterfly fish questions/experiences

[kaiboshi]

I am switching my 125 mixed reef to more of a fowlr type setup. If some corals survive then so be it but I'm not super concerned about them any longer, I want some more fish action.

I have always loved butterfly fish but because of them not being reef safe I've strayed away from them. I have been able to find some information but not nearly enough to satisfy my curiousity.

My plan was to add 2 or 3 butterfly fish to my existing 125 whose inhabitants are 4 lyretail anthias (1 male 3 female) and a desjardini sailfin (~5"). I have pretty good skimming capabilities, 175 lbs of lr and a fairly large fuge so my parameters are all in check even with daily feeding. The plan was to purchase the fish together at a size of 2-3", QT them together and introduce them together to lower aggression.

My main interest is the saddleback butterfly(Chaetodon ephippium). WWM rates it as being not so hardy (claiming 50% are dead 3 months after collection) but better than a lot of other butterfly fish. How hardy are these guys? I also read that they feed mainly on benthic inverts so I am assuming they will be a little more on the difficult side to get to eat, any experiences or hints?

My second interest is the yellow longnose butterfly(Forcipiger flavissimus). From what I've read they are hardy, accept varieities of food and generally adapt pretty well to aquarium life. Is this everyone elses experience?

The final slot is a toss up between the pakistan butterfly(Chaetodon collare), pearlscale(Chaetodon xanthrusus) and blackback(Chaetodon melannotus). I have issues with each of them based on my current info that I'd like clarification on if possible. The pakistan butterfly requires multiple daily feedings? My anthias get by on one or two extended feedings per day, is the pakistan butterfly even more needy than my lyretails(not that they are needy in comparisson to other anthias but I'd like some kind of comparisson). The pearlscale and blackback, how hardy are they? They have arrive alive restrictions but WWM lists them as being alright. What about getting them to eat? Is it rough/impossible or doable?



Next questions are regarding QT. How do butterfly fish hold up to cupramine and praziquantel(prazipro specifically). My normal regimen for QT involves both cupramine and prazipro which has worked quite well for me in the past but I don't want to go poisoning a copper sensitive fish.

Any help would be awesome, thanks in advance.

 

[elFloyd]

I've had a longnose in my 90g reef for about 18 months. No problems, eats like a pig... And doesn't bother the corals.

 

[bigdoug]

Have had my yellow long nose for 10 weeks, went through the cupramine and prazipro no problem, has been in my DT for 2 weeks, no issues, eats everything from frozen to pellets, and has not bothered any corals.

 

[LukFox]

Saddlebacks are supposed to be pretty hardy for a butterfly. For any butterfly I would feed at least two times a day. They really do need a lot of food, and with their little mouths you can drop some clams in that they can pick at for a while. I throw in 2-3 clams a day for my butterflies and angels.

I had one longnose butterfly develop HLLE from cupramine in QT, the another longnose, two yellowface butterflies (similar to the saddleback), and a dusky butterfly (by far the most fragile) showed no side effects from prazi or copper in QT. The longnose that did develop HLLE recovered once copper treatment was complete. Just take it slowly and keep an eye on them. Some experienced butterfly keepers recommend keeping the copper concentration low and just doing a longer treatment for butterflies, but I haven't found that necessary ime.

Clams, mussels, and live blackworms are nice tricks for butterflies refusing to feed. Also, there is a difference between the clams and mussels, so try the other if one fails. My butterflies prefer mussels, and I couldn't get my yellowheads to eat ANYTHING, including clams, until I tried offering a mussel.

 

[pktech]

I'm cautious on butterflies myself - My collare was $50, & didn't eat anything except live clams which was fun to watch the first 10 times but it got ridiculous after a while. I put a rock w/ small feather dusters on it in & it went nuts on it - picked over within a hour & promptly died the next week. As much as I want another collare, I know I don't have the tank set up for it, myself. Good luck on it

 

[HASBRO]

0 for maybe 10 on the bfly thing over 12years even the hardy ones. I feel like a bad fish keeper saying this but over time they all seem to stop eatting and wither away. No problems with large angels tangs puffers. Just lost a Raccoon last week after a year and not about to change my setup. Is it just me because i suck or anybody else finding this? Give me a bump if you can admit that you are bad btfly keeper.

 

[Kipps]

I have had a yellow longnose fr more than 6 years - never had a problem - eats everything.

I purchased a saddle back a few years ago - very nice large fish - about 4 - 5 inches - he lasted about a month and died.

I now also have a pair of golden butterlies (blue faced?) and have had them for about 7 months - they also eat everything and are the best fish I have had.

I intend looking for a pair of pakistani butterfly's sometime in the future - I think they would make a great contrast with the goldens.

Rodd

 

[armywife022]

Hi there. I have had a horrible time with my first couple of butterfly fish. First I had a Raccoon, he was not eating. I was trying to feed him frozen brine shrimp and other frozen meaty foods. After a little research I decided to put some fresh clams in there which he ate pretty well. He would also pick on the rock but not much. He died a few days after I started feeding the clams. Now I just found my Pakistani dead! I have looked all over him and found no reason for him to have died. He was a picky eater also but did seem to enjoy the clams. I am not sure if they just weren't eating enough or what...

 

[abrabra]

Pakistani is almost impossible to keep in home aquarium.
They are very picky eater.

Most butterfly fish are omnivore, it is best to provide a variety of foods.
Normally those feed on single food source cannot survive for long.

 

[WuHT]

If you go through to your LFS, you can easily pick between the butterflies that are going to survive and the ones that are goners.

I've only acquired ONE of, so my comments may not be represented of your luck.

1. Saddleback butterfly: Got a specimen that would eat in the quarantine tank, but perished in the main tank in about a month

2. Black-backed butterfly: got a specimen that was super healthy and pretty much ate everything, showed no aggression and was a great pet. Problem was I was inexperienced and introduced some sort of parasite and he was gone in a tank-wipe.

3. Pakistani butterfly: got a little guy and he's still doing good now. Willing to eat pretty much whatever I feed it, and will aggressively defend the rights to a algae clip (4" fish chasing away +6" foxface).

I highly recommend that butterflies (especially the more common and readily available ones) be purchased after examination in your LFS. If they don't eat aggressively, don't bother. There are times when i'm home that I feed half a dozen smaller feedings, while some other days someone else feeds the aquarium twice (or even once) and the pakistani butterfly has no problems.

I like your picks for butterfly fish, since not a lot of them have red coloration.