Guenther’s Butterfly- Anyone with experience?

[Zionas]

Came across a nice species of butterfly called a Guenther’s Butterfly, according to Lemon back in the day is one of the more reef safe butterflies. It shares a complex with the Lemon (Hawaiian), African (C. Dolosus), Atlantic Reef (C. Sedentarius) and West Australian (C. Assarius) Butterflies. It doesn’t seem to make it into the North American trade that often, but I would like to hear if anyone has experience caring for this species. Is it a hard butterfly to keep?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Came across a nice species of butterfly called a Guenther’s Butterfly, according to Lemon back in the day is one of the more reef safe butterflies. It shares a complex with the Lemon (Hawaiian), African (C. Dolosus), Atlantic Reef (C. Sedentarius) and West Australian (C. Assarius) Butterflies. It doesn’t seem to make it into the North American trade that often, but I would like to hear if anyone has experience caring for this species. Is it a hard butterfly to keep?

I can't remember if I've ever worked with one of these, I may have, and but just not considered it any different than a C. miliaris. I didn't think that milaris or sedentarius were particularly reef-safe. They might be SPS safe, but I would worry that they would pick at urchins, starfish and LPS.

Jay

 

[Zionas]

I see. Thank you. What were your experiences with C. Miliaris in terms of care?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I see. Thank you. What were your experiences with C. Miliaris in terms of care?

I always found them to be pretty hardy, no issues feeding them; mysids, fish eggs, pellets. I haven't seen them much in recent years, the Hawaiian collectors were focused on other species, and now of course there are no shipping at all.

Jay

 

[Zionas]

That’s good to know. Would you say they’re among the hardiest of all butterflies? Are butterflies generally more fragile than angels?

They should be / should have appeared more often. Simple but nice looking species.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

That’s good to know. Would you say they’re among the hardiest of all butterflies? Are butterflies generally more fragile than angels?

They should be / should have appeared more often. Simple but nice looking species.

Personally, I think the Prognathodes butterflyfish are hardier, followed by raccoons. Those aren’t reef safe though. Angelfish are too varied in their habits to compare as a group to butterflies I think. And then, personal bias comes into play - if I had some bad experiences with this or that species, it tends to bias me overall.
Jay

 

[Zionas]

Yeah that’s a bit unfortunate and Prognathodes aren’t suitable for a tropical tank I guess. But I guess overall you’ve only had good experiences with the C. Miliaris and C. Guentheri?