Klein Butterfly

[brett559]

Question about Klein Butterfly fish. I had a CBB that did a great job on my aiptasia. However, once he plowed through them all, I found I wasn't able to keep him fed. He couldn't compete with my tangs and wrasses at feeding time.

I was able to get the CBB out and gave him to a fellow reefer. I can see some aiptasia coming back. I'm going to try to keep them under control with aiptasia X. But if I lose the battle, I'm curious about Klein butterfly fish. I've read these can be reef safe and do a good job with aiptasia. They are also listed as "easy" on liveaquaria - I presume that means easier to feed.

Any experience with these fish? Are they good aiptasia eaters? Are they easy to keep alive once the aiptasia is under control? Will they decimate the corals I have (LPS and zoas mostly)?

Let me know! Thanks!

 

[JoelA7]

Suggest you introduce Berghia Nudibranchs. They'll do a great job. Afterward a couple peppermint shrimp will keep everything under control.

 

[brett559]

I tried the peppermints, my melanarus wrasse made short of those...

Also, the same wrasse (and other wrasses) would possibly do the same for berghias...

 

[JoelA7]

Ah. Well, Berghias are nocturnal and the wrasse is not, so that might work out. Expensive experiment though...

 

[Moort82]

I'm a big fan of kleins and used to keep a small group for aiptasia control but not in a reef. I would hold the coral with the aiptasia in their tank and within seconds it would be gone. If I was a little slow then they would also have a go at the coral as well so I wouldn't trust them in a reef, especially with zoas and soft corals.
This was in a LFS and I mainly kept them to clean up freshly cured live rock.

 

[nirvanaandtool]

My Klein's eats about everything I throw in - pellets, mysis, krill, brine, even pieces of silverside that she snatches from the maori wrasses. Cleaned up the aiptasia in the tank and generally doesn't pick on too much corals (never enough to kill anything). Granted I don't have too much in coral and no zoas to speak about. Great fish, I love mine.