Saddled Butterflyfish

Habitat: Natural geographic location:
  The Saddled Butterflyfish or Saddleback Butterflyfish was described by Cuvier in 1831, and was first collected in the Society Islands. They are found in the Eastern Indian and Pacific Oceans; Sri Lanka, Christmas and Cocos-Keeling Islands, southern Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, Southeast Asia, Palau, Great Barrier Reef, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Marshalls, Hawaii, Societies, Marquesas, Tuamotus, Rapa, and New South Wales of Australia.
   Adults are usually are seen in mated pairs in their natural habitat, and only occasionally seen singly or in small groups. Juveniles are mostly solitary. They inhabit rocky shores, clear open coral-reef slopes, and outer reefs at depths between 3 - 98 feet (1- 30 meters). They can be also encountered in dirty areas of calm silty bays especially when they are juveniles.
   This species co-occurs with the Yellowhead Butterflyfish C. xanthocephalus in Sri Lanka. It has also hybridized with C. xanthocephalus in the northeastern Indian Ocean (around Andaman Sea) where neither parental species has been recorded; a mysterious phenomenon.

Other crossbreeding is known to have occured with the Dotted Butterflyfish C. semeion and the Threadfin Butterflyfish C. auriga.

Dr. Jungle says, "Hiroyuki tells us a bit about distribution of this butterflyfish in Japan..."
"I have seen some juvenile specimens in southern Japan in June to September, and they were seen in silty areas in calm harbors. Also I saw a very large adult in Oahu, the Hawaiian Islands. Larger specimens of about 12cm long are collected by friends all around the year in Miyazaki, eastern Kyushu, southern Japan." ...Hiroyuki Tanaka

Status:
   These fish are not listed on the IUCN Red List.

Saddled Butterflyfish (Juvenile) Photo courtesy: Hiroyuki Tanaka

Description:
   The adult Saddled Butterflyfish is unmistakably colored. The body is somewhat elongated and gray with several longitudinal narrow bluish lines on the abdominal part. There is a narrow slightly diagonal line just above the pectoral-fin base and another narrow vertical one behind the head. It has a bright orange area on chin. From the dorsal fin to the posterior part of the back is a large black area, with the lower and anterior part edged by a snowy white band and the posterior part by an orange stripe with a bluish edge. The caudal fin is blackish edged by a yellowish line, and the caudal peduncle has a reddish area. The anal fin is gray with a broader yellow margin and an orange submarginal line. The pelvic fins are yellowish.
   Juveniles are somewhat similar but with a silvery body, a black band through the eye, and a prominent black spot on caudal peduncle. Hiroyuki Tanaka tells us that the juvenile pictured here is a 3 cm specimen and was "...caught by a friend and my cousin in Nichinan Coast, southern Miyazaki, Japan in mid-summer."

Length/Diameter of fish:
   Adults reach almost 9 1/2 inches (24 cm), but most specimens available are around 6 inches (15 cm).

Maintenance difficulty:
   Once acclimated the Saddled Butterflyfish is one of the easier butterflyfish to keep in a captive environment, but some technical care is needed to maintain it. Medium sized specimens are best to obtain, as small ones often will not feed and larger ones need a large amount of space to become comfortable. Large specimens will acclimate better if there is a lot of filamentous algae in the tank. It will take a variety of foods and can be kept for several years. As it will harm polyps of hard stony coral species, it is never recommended for reef-type aquariums.
   Many of the Chaetodon members are often very colorful and attractive to aquarists. Unfortunately some of them are rather difficult to keep for a long period. Some are exclusively coral eaters, and sometimes they suffer from “ich” (white spot disease) and other infectious diseases.They can be treated successfully with medical care or copper drugs, but some species hate sudden changes of water including PH, temperature, or any drug treatment. The Saddled Butterflyfish is a hard stony coral eater and it can also be sensitive to some drugs. Be sure to observe this fish closely when medicating it, so you can remove it if it shows signs of stress.
   In the wild a cleaner wrasse (Labroides sp.) will help them by taking parasites from their bodies, however these wrasses are extremely difficult to sustain in captivity. Alternative fish such as Neon Gobies (Gobiosoma spp.) can help them by providing this cleaning service in the home aquarium.

Diseases that Marine Butterflyfish are susceptible to:
Marine Ich(white spot disease), Marine Velvet, Uronema marinum, and Lymphocystis

Dr. Jungle says, "Hiroyuki shares his experience keeping this butterflyfish..."
"I have kept more than ten specimens of the size ranging from 2-12cm in a fish community tank, and they were an eye-catching beauty in tanks without any trouble. White spot diseases attacked them on occasion, but most of them successfully recovered only by using an appropriate copper sulfate... however some seemed sensitive to drugs and could not tolerate it. " ...Hiroyuki Tanaka

Foods:
   The Saddled Butterflyfish or Saddleback Butterflyfish are omnivores. In the wild they feed on filamentous algae, small invertebrates, hard coral polyps, sponges, tunicates, and fish eggs. Provide Meaty foods, dried flakes, shrimps, and tablets. Japanese Nori (Asakusa-nori) will also be favored. Commercially prepared foods containing sponge and algae can also be provided, along with filamentous algae and sessile invertebrates in the tank.
   Offer various foods quite frequently at first. Once it is successfully acclimated it will become very hardy and live for a long period. Feed it at least twice a day, and if it is a tiny juvenile, feeding should be tried three to four times everyday.

Maintenance:
   Though not a very quick swimmer it swims freely, usually spending a good deal of its time in the open water and moving in and out of crevices. Frequent water changes are not necessary, rather normal water changes at 10% biweekly or 20% monthly are fine. Sudden massive water changes can cause trouble.
   For more information see, Marine Aquarium Basics: Maintenance

Aquarium Parameters:
   The tank should be well decorated with rocks/ corals with many hiding places, even for adults. This fish is a coral eater, nipping the polyps of hard stony coral species. Consequently it is not recommended for coral-rich reefs. It will also eat some sessile invertebrates.
Minimum Tank Length/Size:
   A minimum 70 gallon (265 liters) or larger.
Light: Recommended light levels
   It is best kept under the normal lighting conditions, but can also be kept under very bright light as long as some dimly lit spaces are provided.
Temperature:
   This species lives in both tropical and subtropical areas. Temperatures between 73 -79° F (23 - 26° C) will serve them well, but temperatures higher than 86° F (30° C) or below 68 ° F (20° C) would not be good.
Water Movement: Weak, Moderate, Strong
   Water movement is not a significant factor. It can tolerate a rather strong flow but slow-moving water will be more favorable.
Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom
   It swims freely and usually spends time in the open water.

Social Behaviors:
   The Saddled Butterflyfish or Saddleback Butterflyfish is a non-reef safe fish. Though it does well in a coral-rich tank, it will nip some species of hard corals and will also eat sessile invertebrates. It will do well in a large fish only community tank that is well decorated with rocks/ corals and many hiding places.
   This species is generally not an aggressive fish towards other species, but it is territorial with other members of its own kind. The exception to this is if you can initially obtain a pair, otherwise it is best kept singly. It may be fine with other boisterous species once it has become accustomed to them.
   It is best to select other tank mates that are not overly territorial or aggressive. It can however be kept with the larger and rather territorial angelfishes like Pomacanthus and Holacanthus. Centropyge, along with other angelfish members of Apolemichthys, Genicanthus, Chaetodontoplus and Pygoplites could also be good tank mates. Smaller non-aggressive fishes like cardinalfish, gobies, tilefish, fairy basslets, fairy and flasher wrasses, etc. are also good candidates as tank mates. Small but very territorial fishes like dottybacks should be avoided. Such fish as Basses or scorpionfish, even if they are small enough, should also be avoided.

Sex: Sexual differences:
   No sexual difference is noted for this species. Butterflyfish species studied up to this time indicate that these fish are gonochoristic, meaning that each fish is either a male or a female and they do not change sex.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   This species has not been cultivated in captivity. Marine butterflyfish have not reportedly been spawned successfully in captivity. There are, however, reports of some success in rearing wild collected larvae of some of the corallivorous butterflyfish. It is hoped these captive reared fish will be adapted to accept aquarium foods, and thus broaden the species selections that can be sustained in captivity.
   For more information see, Marine Fish Breeding. 

Buy Saddleback Butterflyfish From LiveAquaria.com

Availability:
   The Saddled Butterflyfish or Saddleback Butterflyfish is very commonly seen at retailers. They are very reasonable priced, ranging from about $15.00 USD and up, depending on size.
   Most available specimens are around 6 inches (15 cm) long, though juveniles less than 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) are also obtainable. Adults are more scarce as well as a bit higher priced.