Chaetodon Ornatissimus - Seriously considering it

I meant to give an update on this fish. I went back a few days after my last posting and the fish was covered in Ich. I had a twinge of guilt, because I felt it stood a better chance in my tank, but would have likely still been destined for death.

Maybe one day.
 
its not necessarily getting them to eat. All the baby ornates i get in Hawaii, i can get to eat pretty easily. Its more of the nutrition aspect of the food. I dont think they get the right nutrition from frozen foods like mysis or brine etc.

Has anyone had a long term success rate without them eating coral in the tanks ?
 
its not necessarily getting them to eat. All the baby ornates i get in Hawaii, i can get to eat pretty easily. Its more of the nutrition aspect of the food. I dont think they get the right nutrition from frozen foods like mysis or brine etc.

Has anyone had a long term success rate without them eating coral in the tanks ?

I would be really interested in talking to you about this more in depth or starting a seperate thread regarding those species that are similar to the ornates, melons, meyers, etc.

I've often wondered if it's just the amount of food/protein that the fish takes in throughout the day, or if the success of this fish is the specific amino acids and lipids or whatever it is that is in the coral tissue that it eats.

With all the new Tech in the industry today, it seems we could make a food supplement to help keep these fish in captivity. That seems like it's right up Brightwell's alley.

Decision made, I'm going to start that thread. Hopefully people join in.

Are you a collector in Hawaii or a LFS owner or just a hobbyist that has access to all the wonderful fish from Hawaii?
 
its not necessarily getting them to eat. All the baby ornates i get in Hawaii, i can get to eat pretty easily. Its more of the nutrition aspect of the food. I dint think they get the right nutrition from frozen foods like mysis or brine etc.

Has anyone had a long term success rate without them eating coral in the tanks ?

I used to think that way. I respectfully disagree for a couple reasons. 1. After keeping butterflies for many years now, I'm come to learn actually how much food a healthy thriving specimen takes in on a daily basis. It's shocking, really. And then there's #2: http://glassbox-design.com/2010/obligate-corallivore-captivity/

:)
 
Thanks for sharing that's an awesome article, Peter. Do you know how they're secured to the acrylic by chance? I was looking for clues in the pics.
 
I used to think that way. I respectfully disagree for a couple reasons. 1. After keeping butterflies for many years now, I'm come to learn actually how much food a healthy thriving specimen takes in on a daily basis. It's shocking, really. And then there's #2: http://glassbox-design.com/2010/obligate-corallivore-captivity/

:)

Love that article, I've read it multiple times in the past. Let me get some info together and start this thread up.
 
Ditto this --

Fishing line maybe?

I'm not sure what the significance of keeping the clams attached to the acrylic or even being on acrylic is. I just drop my clams into the tank and the fish pick them clean. After they are done, I just pull them out with a pair of grabbers, or "Gwabbas", as my two year old calls them.
 
SDguy - great article - thanks for sharing it!

As i agree with the amount of food (i believe we greatly underfeed our fish compared to the wild) but specifically obligate corillavores (ornate, meyeri, chevron, etc) i believe our prepared foods dont offer the same nutritional value as feeding exclusively on corals. If they are in a large reef tank and can eat prepared foods and sample (hopefully just sample!) corals in the aquarium i believe they would be fine long term. This is all just speculation, but like i said, i can get them to eat fairly easily if they are small.

Other butterflies (raccoon, auriga, tinkeri, declives etc) that dont feed on corals (for sustenance, not for fun!) do very well on prepared foods if given ample amounts (all IME)

This is a good thread!
 
Back
Top