Poll: How many reefers have successfully kept a butterfly?

Jase4224 · Jan 21, 2019

Guys do you think it’s possible that a lot of butterflies that have been considered NOT reef safe for so long perhaps could be safely kept with corals now due to better filtration and increased feeding?

I have been in the hobby nearly 15 years and the same butterflies have been considered impossible to keep with corals but back then it was a struggle to keep excess nutrients down whereas now people can feed much more and modern filtration methods keep the water quality from degrading.

Perhaps we are avoiding certain species unnecessarily.

DraggingTail · Jan 21, 2019

According to this article, coral predation might be a good thing. Except for the predators that damage the underlying skeleton

https://eatlas.org.au/content/relationship-between-corals-and-fishes-great-barrier-reef

RMS18 · Jan 21, 2019

To early to say sucuessfully, but i have had my CBB for 2.5 months. He was shipped with Ick and was very skinny. He has gotten much thicker, eats all kinds of food including Nori. He is by far my favorite fish, the personality on him is incredible. I can put my face on the glass and he will swim right up to me, no fear. His feed response is so cool to watch, they can do this head twitch, first time you see it you may think the fish has flukes. The tank is in sight of the refrigerator, so when its about feeding time and he sees me go to the freezer out of the corner of my eye i'll see him start to twitch, once he sees the feeding cup he turns into a spaz haha love that fish.

ca1ore · Jan 21, 2019

Is your question about keeping butterflyfish in general or keeping them in a reef tank? If the latter, there are a few that are generally safe and mostly easy to moderate. Pyramid, zoster and copperband can be kept. Copperband is a timid fish and won’t do well with too many aggressive tankmates like tangs. Then there are others that are somewhat more cautionary with corals. Yellow semi, for example, can be done, as can some others. Many are obligate coralivores, so clearly those won’t work. If you are talking about a FOWLR, then your options obviously expand. Still the obligate coralivores won’t work. There was an article in Coral magazine where the author sparkled food into a coral skeleton as potential food substitute.

DraggingTail · Jan 21, 2019

ca1ore said:
Is your question about keeping butterflyfish in general or keeping them in a reef tank? If the latter, there are a few that are generally safe and mostly easy to moderate. Pyramid, zoster and copperband can be kept. Copperband is a timid fish and won’t do well with too many aggressive tankmates like tangs. Then there are others that are somewhat more cautionary with corals. Yellow semi, for example, can be done, as can some others. Many are obligate coralivores, so clearly those won’t work. If you are talking about a FOWLR, then your options obviously expand. Still the obligate coralivores won’t work. There was an article in Coral magazine where the author sparkled food into a coral skeleton as potential food substitute.

My question is on the Vagabond Butterfly. He is in there. I will give it a try. See if he kills my SPS or LPS.

He was nipping at them but mostly the gravel and rocks.

ca1ore · Jan 21, 2019

Vagabond is ok. It’s not an obligate coralivores, though will eat corals if available. Curious how it does for you. Nice fish.

DraggingTail · Jan 21, 2019

ca1ore said:
Vagabond is ok. It’s not an obligate coralivores, though will eat corals if available. Curious how it does for you. Nice fish.

I will update the thread as it unfolds....

Lb71 · Jan 21, 2019

CBB over 2 years now. Local fish shop. Was difficult to get to feed until I used a feeding station set up for the fish’s style of eating of poking their snout into holes and crevices. Had in quarantine 6 weeks Prazipro was only treatment used. Now eats like a pig, loves to eat out of my hand when feeding frozen. Never was able to get the fish to eat anything but all types of frozen. Especially LRS products.

MrsBugmaster · Jan 21, 2019

I currently have :
Pakistan (Chaetodon collare),9 months
Pair of Indian Vegabond (Chaetodon decussatus)8 months,
Mitratus (Chaetodon mitratus) 18 months, although it is 12 years old.

Before this I had a Tinkeri, blue strippe butterfly(Chaetodon fremblii), Had these for 3 years until I lost everything in a tank crash.

I feed a variety of frozen, pellets, algae sheets, clam on the half shell, live black worms.

DraggingTail · Jan 21, 2019

MrsBugmaster said:
I currently have :
Pakistan (Chaetodon collare),9 months
Pair of Indian Vegabond (Chaetodon decussatus)8 months,
Mitratus (Chaetodon mitratus) 18 months, although it is 12 years old.

Before this I had a Tinkeri, blue strippe butterfly(Chaetodon fremblii), Had these for 3 years until I lost everything in a tank crash.

I feed a variety of frozen, pellets, algae sheets, clam on the half shell, live black worms.

Is this a reef tank? Can you elaborate on the type of coral you keep?

Thanks!

DraggingTail · Jan 21, 2019

MrsBugmaster said:
I currently have :
Pakistan (Chaetodon collare),9 months
Pair of Indian Vegabond (Chaetodon decussatus)8 months,
Mitratus (Chaetodon mitratus) 18 months, although it is 12 years old.

Before this I had a Tinkeri, blue strippe butterfly(Chaetodon fremblii), Had these for 3 years until I lost everything in a tank crash.

I feed a variety of frozen, pellets, algae sheets, clam on the half shell, live black worms.

We like pics too!

MrsBugmaster · Jan 21, 2019

@ DraggingTail They are in a FOWLR. This time of day it is impossible to get decent pictures as the tank is across from a sliding glass door and it is nothing but glare on the tank. I will take some pics later.

revhtree · Jan 21, 2019

I added a poll!

I have kept an Aussie Copperband Butterfly since July and shes a fatty!

ZoWhat · Jan 21, 2019

CBB are pretty easy if you get then eating finely chopped mussel meat from your grocery store. Frozen, canned, fresh, it doesn't matter. Mussels are #1 imo even over clam meat. Haven't seen many fish turn down mussel meat.

Keep water quality decent....no problems

Jase4224 · Jan 21, 2019

ca1ore said:
Is your question about keeping butterflyfish in general or keeping them in a reef tank? If the latter, there are a few that are generally safe and mostly easy to moderate. Pyramid, zoster and copperband can be kept. Copperband is a timid fish and won’t do well with too many aggressive tankmates like tangs. Then there are others that are somewhat more cautionary with corals. Yellow semi, for example, can be done, as can some others. Many are obligate coralivores, so clearly those won’t work. If you are talking about a FOWLR, then your options obviously expand. Still the obligate coralivores won’t work. There was an article in Coral magazine where the author sparkled food into a coral skeleton as potential food substitute.

I read an article recently that showed what were believed to be coral obligate feeding butterflies in the Mediterranean from the Red Sea so they must be able to adapt. At least over time.. unfortunately I’m not sure where this article was from but perhaps Reefbuilders.

DraggingTail · Jan 21, 2019

So, the Vagabond was going to town on my SPS today. All my polyps were in. So I moved him to a LPS tank. My polyps are back out and happy now.

ReefTeacher · Jan 21, 2019

Jase4224 said:
I read an article recently that showed what were believed to be coral obligate feeding butterflies in the Mediterranean from the Red Sea so they must be able to adapt. At least over time.. unfortunately I’m not sure where this article was from but perhaps Reefbuilders.

I read this article too. A description of from the University of Tel Aviv where Chaetodon larvatus is found now in the Mediterranean, where there are no hard corals. This species was a Red Sea endemic, and thought to be an obligate corallivore, but that cannot be in the Mediterranean. I wrote the author in Tel Aviv, asking if there was a gut content analysis but never heard back. This is a Holy Grail Fish for me!

hawkeye1 · Jan 21, 2019

I’ve had my CBB for probably 1 1/2-2 years and he eats out of my hand. I bought him to eat the aptisia and he is now one of my favorite fish. He eats frozen food and black worms. For anyone that has a problem with a finicky eating fish try black worms they work!!

hawkeye1 · Jan 21, 2019

I had my CBB for 1 1/2-2 years and he eats out of my hand. I bought him to eat aptisia and now he is one of my favorite fish. He eats frozen food and black worms. For anyone that has a finicky eating fish try black worms they work!!