The Butterfly Lover's Thread

[areefer01]

About 50% lived past 1 year. Finding initially healthy specimens is extremely important. Unfortunately butterflies are prone to bullying by more aggressive fish (most other FOWLR fish), prone to ich, velvet, flukes, uronema, and secondary bacterial infections due to trauma from shipping. Unfortunately a LOT of butterflies arrive with damaged mouths and those are basically doomed.

I think part of the problem with butterflies is also due to their high metabolism. Few people feed them frequently enough, and often times they arrive so skinny/starved from shipping and sitting unfed throughout the whole collection and shipping process that they are doomed from the day they get to the home aquarium. If you get a healthy butterfly, try to feed it 3x daily or more, as these are fish that eat all day long in the wild. This is why most of my angels, tangs, butterflies (really almost all my reef fish) are fed 4-6x daily.

Butterflies are also still commonly collected with cyanide (one of the most commonly collected families of fish using this method), and those are also usually doomed. Buying fat butterflies that are at least interested in food, with known collection locale (to avoid areas that still commonly use cyanide), and without any obvious signs of trauma or disease, then quarantining for at least 30 days (both to eliminate risk of disease and to train onto prepared foods/acclimate to captive life), leads to the highest chances of success in my opinion.

I quarantine mine with plenty of rock to pick at, and lots of food options fed throughout the day (mysis, brine, clam on the half shell, nori, NLS pellets, rods, frozen fish eggs, homemade frozen blend, live Caulerpa, and masstick). I usually keep other fish that eat well but are not overly aggressive or pushy around food in with them to help train them as well (mollies and cardinals work really well for this). All my butterflies now go through 30 days of cupramine, 3 treatments of praziquantel, at least 7 days of metronidazole, and 5 days of ruby reef rally pro, along with a 5 minute freshwater bath before entering into quarantine.

I've not kept as many as you but I will say that seeing them in the wild as a diver they are constantly foraging. I feed dry hourly and frozen twice. And they still forage. Pretty fish btw.

 

[carbasaurus]

Wow, I have not kept nearly that many compared to above posts. Currently have a copperband and Klein’s in an sps system. Some picking at the coral by the Kleins but not enough to damage them. A few years back had a Tahitian that did well in an LPS system (was an aptaisia destroyer by the way)

 

[i cant think]

Should have 0 issues with ephippium or triangulum. Butterflies usually don't bother other tankmates, unless they eat the same exact food source in the wild, or don't have enough caves for each to have their old hiding spot.

That flavissimus looks thin though, and the pectoral fins look pretty nipped. I'd watch carefully for signs of aggression from one of the current tankmates and separate asap.

Photos of butterflies is hard for me as what looks thin in photos is generally quite fat.
As for aggression, it’s likely to be his own fault as he really loves to go at my angels and then they defend themselves.

I’ll keep an eye on him though, however he feeds vigorously and is overall not doing too badly.

 

[PhilT]

I got the raccoon because my tank was infested with maj@nos. Even though I never really saw him pick at them, they were gone in like a month. Unfortunately so were my zoas.

 

[awwinterfall]

Yes, the lunulatus eats NLS. Picks them off the bottom. Ephippium came from on of my LFS, as did all the others. I have about 4 stores within 2 hrs of my house that I buy fish from.

Any chance your lfs ship?

 

[carbasaurus]

Wow, I have not kept nearly that many compared to above posts. Currently have a copperband and Klein’s in an sps system. Some picking at the coral by the Kleins but not enough to damage them. A few years back had a Tahitian that did well in an LPS system (was an aptaisia destroyer by the way)

Sorry, meant to say the Tahitian was in a soft coral tank. I think he would have gone after LPS coral. Don’t want to give anyone false ideas about compatibility. He was fine with the softies though

 

[Fishfreak2009]

So here's an update on my batch of butterflies in quarantine for y'all.

Purchased the group of 6 last weekend:
Store #1: Chaetodon pelewensis
Store #2: Chaetodon xanthurus & Chaetodon kleinii
Store #3: Chaetodon lunulatus, Chaetodon ephippium, & Chaetodon citrinellus

Store #1: Pelewensis from eats great and eats everything, even NLS pellets from my fingers.

Store #2: Kleini had flukes the first day, never saw any after freshwater bath before entering quarantine. Ate well, even pellets, but was dead on tank bottom tonight. No signs of aggression, was still normal and eating this AM. Coloration did not fade much after death, internal organs (other than stomach) atrophied to almost nothing. Assuming cyanide collection. Xanthurus was also dead today. Showed no signs of disease, was active and eating frozen this morning, dead on the bottom, again with no coloration fade post-mortem. Again, internal organs (other than stomach) atrophied to almost nothing. Also assuming cyanide collection. Both fish died 5 days after bringing them home, roughly 7 days after arrival at LFS.

Store number 3: Ephippium & citrinellus greedily eating everything, including NLS pellets from my fingers. Lunulatus eating NLS off the bottom, brine and mysis off the bottom, and picking at clams on half shell and nori. Also LOVES repashy spawn and grow and Masstick food on Acropora skeletons. Lunulatus had Neobenedinia flukes show up on both eyes after 3 days in quarantine, which were removed via 14 minute freshwater bath (5 minute freshwater bath, and 2 treatments of praziquantel were totally ineffective at removal). No signs of flukes since on any fish, but continuing to monitor and perform regular freshwater baths.

Not the best news by any means, but I will no longer be buying fish from Store #2. It is my first time buying fish from them in probably 3 years, and I will not make that mistake again.

Store #1 brought in the pelewensis through Quality Marine, and generally has very high quality fish, and orders from locales known not to use cyanide.

Store #3 direct imports from various locations overseas. These 3 butterflies were shipped from the Philippines, which used to have a bad track record for cyanide use, but seems to have gotten much better in recent years.

 

[dennis romano]

So here's an update on my batch of butterflies in quarantine for y'all.

Purchased the group of 6 last weekend:
Store #1: Chaetodon pelewensis
Store #2: Chaetodon xanthurus & Chaetodon kleinii
Store #3: Chaetodon lunulatus, Chaetodon ephippium, & Chaetodon citrinellus

Store #1: Pelewensis from eats great and eats everything, even NLS pellets from my fingers.

Store #2: Kleini had flukes the first day, never saw any after freshwater bath before entering quarantine. Ate well, even pellets, but was dead on tank bottom tonight. No signs of aggression, was still normal and eating this AM. Coloration did not fade much after death, internal organs (other than stomach) atrophied to almost nothing. Assuming cyanide collection. Xanthurus was also dead today. Showed no signs of disease, was active and eating frozen this morning, dead on the bottom, again with no coloration fade post-mortem. Again, internal organs (other than stomach) atrophied to almost nothing. Also assuming cyanide collection. Both fish died 5 days after bringing them home, roughly 7 days after arrival at LFS.

Store number 3: Ephippium & citrinellus greedily eating everything, including NLS pellets from my fingers. Lunulatus eating NLS off the bottom, brine and mysis off the bottom, and picking at clams on half shell and nori. Also LOVES repashy spawn and grow and Masstick food on Acropora skeletons. Lunulatus had Neobenedinia flukes show up on both eyes after 3 days in quarantine, which were removed via 14 minute freshwater bath (5 minute freshwater bath, and 2 treatments of praziquantel were totally ineffective at removal). No signs of flukes since on any fish, but continuing to monitor and perform regular freshwater baths.

Not the best news by any means, but I will no longer be buying fish from Store #2. It is my first time buying fish from them in probably 3 years, and I will not make that mistake again.

Store #1 brought in the pelewensis through Quality Marine, and generally has very high quality fish, and orders from locales known not to use cyanide.

Store #3 direct imports from various locations overseas. These 3 butterflies were shipped from the Philippines, which used to have a bad track record for cyanide use, but seems to have gotten much better in recent years.

Here in northern NJ, there is only one LFS that usually carries butterflies. The problem is that the fish always have flukes. I have done fresh water baths and Prazi to no avail. After a few months of eating like pigs, they are thin then pass away. Most disheartening are the cyanide fish. They eat like pigs for a few days to a few weeks then just drop dead. I have found that the Africa, Red Sea and Australian fish do best.

 

[awwinterfall]

Here in northern NJ, there is only one LFS that usually carries butterflies. The problem is that the fish always have flukes. I have done fresh water baths and Prazi to no avail. After a few months of eating like pigs, they are thin then pass away. Most disheartening are the cyanide fish. They eat like pigs for a few days to a few weeks then just drop dead. I have found that the Africa, Red Sea and Australian fish do best.

It can also be due to uronema or mycobacteria

 

[Fishfreak2009]

Here are a couple pics from today! And a quick video, for the non-believers. It's amazing how palatable the Masstick and Repashy Spawn and Grow mix seems to be for these fish!

 

[awwinterfall]

Vouch for masstick. Especially on clams

 

[i cant think]

Here are a couple pics from today! And a quick video, for the non-believers. It's amazing how palatable the Masstick and Repashy Spawn and Grow mix seems to be for these fish!

Forget the butterflies, that multicolour has caught my eye. How does he do with the slightly more passive fish?

 

[Raul-7]

Chaetodon fremblii, Bluestripe butterfly fish. Another beauty!

 

[Fishfreak2009]

Forget the butterflies, that multicolour has caught my eye. How does he do with the slightly more passive fish?

Doesn't bother anyone. Had him about 1 year now

 

[dennis romano]

It can also be due to uronema or mycobacteria

I had a fly come in from an online vendor with a tiny speck, no more than1/8 of an inch. Within two days, the uronema had spread to almost half of the body. I had to put him out of his misery.

 

[Fishfreak2009]

Pardon the dirty glass, but just check out how vigorous these guys chow down on the Repashy's Spawn and Grow mixed with EasyReef's Masstick.

 

[Raul-7]

 

[Raul-7]

Chaetodon fremblii in motion.

 

[Fishfreak2009]

Chaetodon fremblii in motion.

With Chaetodon multicinctus and Chaetodon auriga in the background.

 

[i cant think]

The question is, are they Hawaiian endemic?