Margined Coralfish (from DD)

[seaslug76]

Hey All,

Picked up a 4.5 inch chelmon marginalis from the Diver's Den about a week ago. What a beautiful fish! Came in very healthy, and looking well fed. I plan to add him to my 90 gallon reef tank (I realize some risks are involved), but right now it's in quarantine.

Feeding-wise, it ate all the feather duster worms on a piece of live rock I added, but wouldn't touch frozen hikari mysis. Panicking a bit, I ordered some live black worms from aquaticfoods.com since I heard folks have great success with getting butterflies to eat these. In the first feeding, he was a bit skeptical, but ate a few. Later that day, he ate every worm I put in slurping it like spaghetti. I tried mixing in some frozen hikari mysis, but still no luck. On RC there was a thread mentioning a copperband wouldn't eat the hikari, but had better luck with PE mysis. So today I picked up some PE, and sure enough, he ate it no problem. Maybe with not as much enthusiasm as the worms, but pretty close. So am super happy about that. I really love this fish. Will probably add him to the display next weekend!

I've got SPS, LPS, 2 clams, rics, and rock nems so hopefully he leaves them alone. I'll be willing to take some collateral damage to add such a spectacular fish though.

 

[SDguy]

try long slices of diver scallop.

 

[sail33]

I've on;y read that any fish that eats black worms won't touch anything else. I'd cut back on that and experiment.

Here's a link I found for ya hope it helps
http://www.livingreefs.com/margined-butterflyfish-t17163.html

 

[seaslug76]

I've on;y read that any fish that eats black worms won't touch anything else. I'd cut back on that and experiment.

Here's a link I found for ya hope it helps
http://www.livingreefs.com/margined-butterflyfish-t17163.html

I mentioned he's eating PE mysis, so I should be good..

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

I have had a number of fish that either would eat only one or the other mysis or would eat one type sometimes and then refuse that and eat the other type. I would keep offering both brands, and try both together so the fish identifies both brands as good food.

 

[SDguy]

Here's a trick I use to fatten up butterflies. Start with the least f favorite food and then the next h our feed a more favored food. Keep doing this until you end with a favorite like live blackworms

 

[jjk_reef00]

+1 on diver scallop, and finely minced raw shrimp

 

[seaslug76]

Update: Before putting the margined butterfly into the display tank, I wanted to net out my foxface rabbitfish (giving away to a friend). After several failed attempts, I finally managed to net him out last night with the lights out. First day in the display, the butterfly is getting comfortable and ate a bunch of black worms. Ignored the PE mysis today, but am pretty confident he'll go back to eating them soon. My other fish (kole tang, mystery wrasse, red lined wrasses, midas blenny, indigo dottyback, green mandarin, 2 ocellaris clowns) all get along fine.

Hoping the butterfly eats some annoying vermatid snails I have, but that would be a bonus.