Taking a gamble on a butterfly

[brad]

I have a huge squamosa (football sized) and huge Mag anemone (basketball sized) that I care about a lot. Also lots of cheap, fast growing coral (mostly Acropora) I'm not too worried about. I keep a miniatus grouper and harlequin tusk., so no CUC to eat. Tank is 270. I am tempted to try a butterfly. I'd love a rafflesii or pelewensis. I know Hemitaurichthys are mostly safe, but everything else I see conflicting information - someone says they have it in a full reef and it is fine, but someone else says it eats everything. Are some Chaetodon species better than others, or just every individual is different? Could a Chaetodon kill a clam or anemone that size before I could pull it?

 

[Pericyte]

I read an article recently that said some Chaetodon are better than others, but I have no personal experience.

As for the nem, do you have clowns (and what kind) in your nem? I have true percs and they will go up against anything that tries to get close to their nem, even my hand.

 

[brad]

No clowns, the harlequin tusk kills clowns

 

[Kremis]

I have 2 pyramid butterflies in my 180, they never bother any of the corals, except for xenia, for some reason the decided they liked that, which I dont really mind. I have had them for over a year. They are some of the more reef-safe ones, they mainly eat plankton out of the water column in the wild.

 

[lionfish300]

I have a triplet of Zooster Butterflyfish (Black Pyramid) in my reef and they are good with everything

 

[mark54321]

I have Chaetodon tinkeri in my tank, at least my fish is as reef safe as they come. It does not pick at any corals, I have mostly sun corals and dendros and gorgonians. I even have feather duster rock, she does not touch any of those worms. Only thing she goes after is Aiptasia .

 

[skip0211]

+1 for the Pyamid.. have mine for 3 yrs... great non coral eating butterfly.

 

[OrionN]

No clowns, the harlequin tusk kills clowns

Tusk is fine with Percula. I even have cleaner shrimp with mine. Keep him well fed and add small fish or shrimp right before light out after the Tusk went to bed. Newly added disoriented small fish or shrimp is unresistable for predators.