Long Nose Butterfly

[Long Time Beginner]

My LFS had a Long Nose Butterfly this weekend. I put a deposit down on it with the understanding that if he is eating and still looks healthy, I'll bring him home next weekend.

I've never kept any sort of butterfly. Can I get some advice on caring for this fish?

Since someone will surely ask about the tank he's going to live in, he's going to be in my 54g tank, which only has a pseudochromis in it plus a couple shrimp (large cleaner shrimp). My aquascaping is pretty open so even though it's a bit on the small side, the butterfly will have the run of the tank. I will also have a 150g tank ready within a year's time and the butterfly will be moving there once it's ready.

 

[garvin90]

how much small food will the butterfly have available like your pods and such? IMO these type of butterflys(aside from the fact they might pick at small polyps) are all that different from mandarinfish in the food size they eat save they will feed on frozen fair also.

 

[sabodish]

is your 54 a reef? if so, i would vote against it. i added one to my 360 gallon reef. he was great for 2 months, then developed a taste for my scolymia corals. killed and ate 2 in 2 months. he then turned to my green bubble. i removed the bubble and am in the process of removing the LNB.

 

[Palani]

Yeah, I got 2, the smaller didn't bother one thing. The bigger one, which was a large, started going for my clams. If you have the ability of getting live tubifex worms, get some, it will most likely to eat it all up. Right now I'm in the process of finding a pair of the longer-longnose butterfly, and not the standard. Have fun.

 

[Long Time Beginner]

My 54g is a reef in that it includes a lot of soft corals; colts, leathers, anthelia, zoos, shrooms, yellow polyps, green star polyps, etc. The only hard coral I have is a small orange monti. I don't have any clams.

Has anyone had issues with Long Nose Butterflys eating soft corals? I don't mind a little nipping here and there.

What types of foods have people successfully feed thier Long Nose Butterflys? My tank does have a good number of pods but I would much rather see the fish eating frozen foods as its primary diet.

 

[ethompson]

Palani

if you find that bignose butterfly for sale somewhere, especially on the web, be sure to let us know. I've never found one for sale and I understand that these are more reef safe than the standard longnose.

ethompson

 

[Long Time Beginner]

Does anyone have a picture of the longer/bigger long nosed butterfly? I'm curious what it looks like compared to the "normal" one.

 

[smiller]

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/forcipig.htm