Butterflies and corals

[Jholli90]

I've been doing research, and as usual come up with mixed results lol..... I really want a millet butterfly and a one spot foxface. From what I understand they are reef safe WITH caution, and prefer the stony or hard corals. I only want soft corals, ( I like the movement).

I love the advice I get here. What are your experiences with these fish and coral?
Also, I would like to add a kole tang. He would be last, but would it be a bully?

My tank is a 90 gallon, with 2 1/2 inch bed and 80+ lbs of live rock.

 

[EmdeReef]

My foxface never touches any corals it will eat algae around. Millets are a mixed bag. If you had sps it would be fine but with softies it may or may not nip.

Kole tangs are among the most docile and if introduced last shouldn’t be aggressive.

 

[Jesterrace]

The "With Caution" part for Foxfaces is generally ignored, since it is rare for them to nip corals unless they are really hungry/underfed. Just keep it well fed and it is highly likely that it will leave your corals alone. I have a One Spot Foxface and a Zoanthid and several Euphyllia corals and it leaves them alone. I too really wanted a Milletseed Butterflyfish, but they are a mixed bag with corals (and more of a gamble IMHO than a Dwarf Angel). The problem with butterflyfish as compared to dwarf angels is that it's possible for Dwarf Angels to just do an occasional exploratory nip and not really bother the coral a whole lot, but Butterflyfish tend to devour the coral when they go after it. Not saying you can't a dwarf angel that won't consume the coral, but you are more likely to get that from a a Butterflyfish than a Dwarf Angel. I would give it a pass if you are really set on corals.

Generally speaking the recommendation for Butterflyfish is as follows:

1. Pyramid Butterflyfish, will leave corals alone as long as it's not underfed
2. Copperband Butterflyfish, is most likely to leave corals alone if well fed
3. Longnose Yellow Butterflyfish, is likely to leave corals alone if well fed

Beyond that all butterflyfish are a real gamble with greatly decreased odds of success

As for the Kole Tang, they can be aggressive (as can any tang), but you are far more likely to have success with one than many other Tang species (ie those buttheads known as Yellow Tangs).

 

[Jholli90]

Thank you for the great advice. I will choose coral over the millet since there are other fish I can enjoy in my tank.

I had a few questions about the copperband. It has the colors I want in my tank, but it is listed as a difficult fish. What makes it difficult? Is it hard to acclimate, or very finicky eater? At the moment I have a tribal blenny, and a mccroskers wrasse in my tank. I know my butterfly and foxface have to be next. Which should be 1st? Or should I add those two together so they are less stressed? I planned to wait at least 3 months after I added those 2 before anymore fish.

 

[Tft12]

The yellow longnose butterfly mentioned above is a great choice in my opinion. They’re relatively easy to keep (might get a bit big for your system though). Copperbands can be difficult to get feeding. Plenty of people are able to keep them long term but I think plenty more kill them.

 

[Jholli90]

The problem I'm running into is...... I'm way too picky lol.
I want each fish to look different. My tank is only 90 gallons so I can't have a ton of fish. I wanted each one to stand out. The long nose looks very similar to the fox face. So I would only want 1 or the other. But I can't find a suitable replacement that isn't difficult to care for. I don't want to kill something. I feel comfortable with moderate fish. I'm going fish crazy ;Bookworm

 

[Jesterrace]

Do you have any Wrasses in mind? If you don't, you should as they are well suited to that sized tank and the generally peaceful varieties add tons of personality, color and activity that will add a lot to your tank. There are many that are in the easy to moderate to care for categories:

The first mentioned are completely reef safe (won't bother corals or any inverts):

https://www.liveaquaria.com/categor...78&r=28+3127&s=ts&start=1&page_num=1&count=24

The second are listed as "With Caution" for reef safe, because they will occasionally pick off snails, hermits or small ornamental shrimp, but they will leave corals alone:

https://www.liveaquaria.com/categor...79&r=3127+28&s=ts&start=1&page_num=1&count=24

 

[Jesterrace]

Thank you for the great advice. I will choose coral over the millet since there are other fish I can enjoy in my tank.

I had a few questions about the copperband. It has the colors I want in my tank, but it is listed as a difficult fish. What makes it difficult? Is it hard to acclimate, or very finicky eater? At the moment I have a tribal blenny, and a mccroskers wrasse in my tank. I know my butterfly and foxface have to be next. Which should be 1st? Or should I add those two together so they are less stressed? I planned to wait at least 3 months after I added those 2 before anymore fish.

The Copperband is both hard to acclimate and a finicky eater. I would give the same recommendation for Copperbands as I give for Leopard Wrasses, it's literally about picking the right fish. I recommend waiting for your LFS to do a bulk order of fish and seeing which ones are alive, active and feeding after a few weeks. Yes, it's possible the fish could get sold to an impatient idiot, but as I have learned in this hobby being patient and learning to walk away can save you TONS OF MONEY AND HEARTACHE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I used this method with my Leopard Wrasse (which has the same issues as the copperband) and the result is that I have an active and adaptable fish that eats a variety of food 4 months later.

 

[Angel_Anthias lover]

Have you looked at the Atlantic lonhnose butterflyfish ( Prognathodes aculeatus

 

[Jholli90]

The Copperband is both hard to acclimate and a finicky eater. I would give the same recommendation for Copperbands as I give for Leopard Wrasses, it's literally about picking the right fish. I recommend waiting for your LFS to do a bulk order of fish and seeing which ones are alive, active and feeding after a few weeks. Yes, it's possible the fish could get sold to an impatient idiot, but as I have learned in this hobby being patient and learning to walk away can save you TONS OF MONEY AND HEARTACHE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I used this method with my Leopard Wrasse (which has the same issues as the copperband) and the result is that I have an active and adaptable fish that eats a variety of food 4 months later.

Yea, I wanted a leopard until I did some more reading, and research has led me to the same conclusion for the Copperband. I'm not at that level yet. Maybe in the future lol. I think I will get the pyramid butterfly. We only have 1 LFS that isn't a petco and I've had mixed results from them. My coral did great, but my foxface died after 5 days. I want to try live aquaria but I'm nervous about ordering a fish online.

 

[Jholli90]

Have you looked at the Atlantic lonhnose butterflyfish ( Prognathodes aculeatus

I really like it, but my husband wasn't a fan lol

 

[Jholli90]

Do you have any Wrasses in mind? If you don't, you should as they are well suited to that sized tank and the generally peaceful varieties add tons of personality, color and activity that will add a lot to your tank. There are many that are in the easy to moderate to care for categories:

The first mentioned are completely reef safe (won't bother corals or any inverts):

https://www.liveaquaria.com/categor...78&r=28+3127&s=ts&start=1&page_num=1&count=24

The second are listed as "With Caution" for reef safe, because they will occasionally pick off snails, hermits or small ornamental shrimp, but they will leave corals alone:

https://www.liveaquaria.com/categor...79&r=3127+28&s=ts&start=1&page_num=1&count=24

By the time my tank is stocked I will have 3 wrasses. I already have a mccroskers wrasse, I will be adding a Richmonds and a yellow handed possum wrasse.

 

[Jesterrace]

I really like it, but my husband wasn't a fan lol

It's probably for the best, they only come up for availability a couple of times a year and run in the $90-$100 range.

 

[Angel_Anthias lover]

It's probably for the best, they only come up for availability a couple of times a year and run in the $90-$100 range.

Not meaning to he rude but thats Not 100% true they do come in more often than that, live aquaria has some in right now

 

[mattzang]

https://www.liveaquaria.com/product/1315/longnose-atlantic-butterflyfish?pcatid=1315&c=15+25+1315

wow only 4" max size? i didn't know there were any butterflies that small

 

[Jholli90]

The Copperband is both hard to acclimate and a finicky eater. I would give the same recommendation for Copperbands as I give for Leopard Wrasses, it's literally about picking the right fish. I recommend waiting for your LFS to do a bulk order of fish and seeing which ones are alive, active and feeding after a few weeks. Yes, it's possible the fish could get sold to an impatient idiot, but as I have learned in this hobby being patient and learning to walk away can save you TONS OF MONEY AND HEARTACHE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I used this method with my Leopard Wrasse (which has the same issues as the copperband) and the result is that I have an active and adaptable fish that eats a variety of food 4 months later.

I found a solution! It wasn't on purpose lol, but my lfs had a swallowtail angelfish in. It looked very healthy, swimming all over and eating. I did some quick research. It is one of the only reef safe angels. I like the body style and activity level, so I don't feel like I'm missing out on a butterfly. And the best part...... they didn't know what it was worth. I got it for $30 ;Woot

 

[jp_75]

Have you looked at the Atlantic lonhnose butterflyfish ( Prognathodes aculeatus

have you had one before? what corals they leave alone?

 

[fermentedhiker]

have you had one before? what corals they leave alone?

I have one now and had one in the past. In the past it was in an sps dominant tank and never touched anything. Currently I have one in a new system that is going to be softies/LPS. Not a lot of corals yet but it doesn't touch anything. Worms and feather dusters are probably goners though

 

[fermentedhiker]

My Tahitian is another story. It devours Acans.

 

[User1]

You have some good info here. If you are looking for the Millet, or the Milletseed, or again the Lemon butterflyfish - all the same actually which is in the Chaetodontidae family - is going to be flagged no for reef compatible. However, if you are willing to take that risk - with any butterflyfish actually - it is a hardy one to try. However, it hails from Hawaii so hard to come by. I've looked off and off for a year since I'm looking for a trio.

Most of what I've read - and take it for what it is worth, I do (internet, right) - usually say they are good with a mature tank. By mature I mean there is enough corals and/or the corals that are there grow faster than what someone might be able to pick and deplete. In any case something I've been looking at since I've read they are peaceful and I often been scuba diving with them which bring me back good memories