Butterfly Fish - Difficulty?

[PotatoPig]

I have a FOWLR tank and would like to add a butterfly fish to, either four eye or CBB, but wanted to check on the difficulty level of these fish. From some of the sites selling them it seems they’re hard to keep, but wanted to get opinions and if they are hard to find out why.

Also, I’m a little new to this, but is there a fish shortage? I notice on a lot of sites a lot of fish are out of stock. Is this a regular thing, a seasonal thing or an aberration?

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

If your new to the salt water fish keeping, I'd shy away from butterfly fish in general (for now). Some butterfiles are more hardier than others but they are for the most part fickle overall. Eh, I lean towards seasonal about online fish stocking, but it's all about collection & demand. IME spring & fall months (in this hemisphere) tend to be the best for most fish availability. You usually do better going to a LFS or contacting the vendor to check on stock, as stuff usually isn't updated as well online.

 

[Tamberav]

It varies on which butterfly but some are fairly difficult. They can be easily injured in transport, difficult to get eating, easily bullied, and caught using poor methods which leads to organ damage.

 

[clowndog]

I would shy away from CBB or four eye as the beginner butterfly. Furthermore, depending on which fishes you already have in the tank, some of the tangs and angels are too aggressive that would prevent the new butterfly to settle down. So, it's better to have non-aggressive fishes before introducing butterfly. The auriga butterfly is a good beginner choice. If you have enough tank space, the pyramid butterflies could group.

 

[PotatoPig]

I would shy away from CBB or four eye as the beginner butterfly. Furthermore, depending on which fishes you already have in the tank, some of the tangs and angels are too aggressive that would prevent the new butterfly to settle down. So, it's better to have non-aggressive fishes before introducing butterfly. The auriga butterfly is a good beginner choice. If you have enough tank space, the pyramid butterflies could group.

Current fish are:
Clowns x 2
Lyretail Anthias x 2
(Taking it very slow adding them…)

Planned fish:
Mandarin Dragonet (have copepod farm set up)
Flame Angel
Blenny (undecided which type)
Possible Chalk Basslet x3-5
Butterfly (maybe - doing research)

/tank is 75 gallon + sump. Not planning tangs at this stage. AFAIK this is a relatively peaceful grouping.

 

[Glenner’sreef]

I’ve had “Bah” my CBB for almost 4 years now. Feeding it twice a day is a must. They pick at rocks constantly eating all day. Feeding/eating is seriously a thing with this beautiful fish!

 

[dennis romano]

I have half dozen butterflies in a 125 FOWLR. The four eye is next to impossible to get to eat. If you see a copperband eating at the store, it will be good, but butterflies have to be fed several times a day. The Auriga, IMO is probably the best beginner butterfly. It is pretty hardy, not aggressive and eats just about everything. The only issue is that it gets to about 8 to 10 inches. Mine even eats flake food. You are correct about a shortage of butterflies. I don't know why. I have a feeling that it may be because of the storms in California where most of the importers are located.