Deepwater/Remotely Located Butterfly and Angelfish Thread

No they didn't come from easter island. They were caught by a collector who traveled by sailboat southwest of Tahiti.

Quote from article "This species has only been found at the Rapa, Pitcairn and Marotiri Islands, located southwest of Tahiti. In 2002, the Waikiki Aquarium was fortunate to receive a specimen from collector who had traveled there by sailboat from Tahiti and collected 8 individuals. The remaining animals were sold to distributors in Japan, where their fate is unknown."

Ah, right you are. I read that too and thought Rapa=Easter Island. Looks like there is a Rapa Iti and a Rapa Nui.
 
Odd question that someone here might know--why is Chaetodon smithi so unbelieveably rare (other than the one at Waikiki, are there any at all in captivity?), but the Hotumatua Angel is somewhat available?

ARE Hotumatuas available anymore? I remember back in the early 2000s you could get them for less than $1000. Anybody know the back story here?

True, about 2-3 shipments a year in winters to HK were usual.
There were HI collectors who were going there.
Fish was sold in HK for less than 500.00.
Those days are over...
 
Hi

While I was diving on Easter Island, I saw plenty of Chaetodon litus (actually a pretty ugly fish...) but absolutely NO C. smithi. Considering the odd coloration of the smithi I am sure I would have noticed if there were any. The C. litus is very abundant and not shy at all. What is also pretty funky around Easter Island is the fact that there are plenty of completely black Forcipigers.
 
actually chaeotodon smithi is found in easter island.

but it is rare there and is much much more common in rapa and pitcairn. it is also found in illots de bass islands.
 
Good stuff Jeremy......Lucky your clarion doesn't chase after anyone.....i want to flush mine down the toilet!:mad:
 
Good stuff Jeremy......Lucky your clarion doesn't chase after anyone.....i want to flush mine down the toilet!:mad:

That still wouldnt kill a clarion. I dont think bullets would work agauinst them either. They are IMO the sturdiest organism on earth.

Yeah, Im very lucky mine is VERY laid back. The only species he wont tolerate are regal angels. He has killed one, and every time I have tried one in the acclimator, he chases and paces the box, and doesnt break from it for ANYTHING. Mine is also dumb as live rock. I watched him try to eat a piece of clam once, and got all sand about 5 times before he finally got it.
 
clarion = one big, mean, expensive Damsel......impossible to kill.......damn thing laughed in face of velvet......outlived several power-outages...killed a joc....and dumb as a pigeon...*imagine seeing this guy trying to get cleaned by a hermit crab for days upon days...dumb and dumber*

i'm liking the chromis man.......are you experimenting "the survival of the fittest"?!
 
clarion = one big, mean, expensive Damsel......impossible to kill.......damn thing laughed in face of velvet......outlived several power-outages...killed a joc....and dumb as a pigeon...*imagine seeing this guy trying to get cleaned by a hermit crab for days upon days...dumb and dumber*

i'm liking the chromis man.......are you experimenting "the survival of the fittest"?!

Ive had that group for about 6 months. 3 MUCH smaller ones didnt last long, but I think they are so preoccupied with fearing the bigger fish, they dont take the time to beat each other up. They ALL sleep in that staghorn.
 
clarion = one big, mean, expensive Damsel......impossible to kill.......damn thing laughed in face of velvet......outlived several power-outages...killed a joc....and dumb as a pigeon...*imagine seeing this guy trying to get cleaned by a hermit crab for days upon days...dumb and dumber*

i'm liking the chromis man.......are you experimenting "the survival of the fittest"?!

cleaned by a hermit crab. I didnt think eating sand would get topped. Well played.
 
Odd question that someone here might know--why is Chaetodon smithi so unbelieveably rare (other than the one at Waikiki, are there any at all in captivity?), but the Hotumatua Angel is somewhat available?

ARE Hotumatuas available anymore? I remember back in the early 2000s you could get them for less than $1000. Anybody know the back story here?

Hey Matt! All of the hotus that were coming in were from Easter at the time, and collection was cut off and made illegal so they are no longer offered. I was offered Frank Baensch's breeding pair a few years back but I did not have the sub 72 degree system for them...

The Chaetodon smithi that is on display at Waikiki did indeed come from Rapa, collected by a certain young collector who made enough greene from the sales to buy a Cis Lunar rebreather... while at the same time being a great guy and donating one to Waikiki :)

Matt, here is a shot of me and your coworker a few years back in Waikiki, conveniently with the smithi about to bite Charles' beard... :D

Charles_and_me_small.jpg


Oh, and on a side note you'll notice Centropyge hotumatua has a Western range all the way to Rapa... but this was based on just ONE specimen collected by Jack Randall back in the day... he was at Rapa for a full month with five divers (and a ton of rotenone ;)) and that was the only hotumatua collected... this species is only common at Easter and Pitcairn...

Copps
 
If anyone doesn't like or want their clarion I will gladly take it from you! I'd love to get one, one of my all time favorites, just don't have quite that much money yet, but close! If anyone knows of a deal for one, let me know!
 
The Chaetodon smithi that is on display at Waikiki did indeed come from Rapa, collected by a certain young collector who made enough greene from the sales to buy a Cis Lunar rebreather... while at the same time being a great guy and donating one to Waikiki :)

Thats really cool
 
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