Animal-World > Marine - Saltwater Fish > Butterflyfish

Marine Butterflyfish

Family: ChaetodontidaeSunset ButterflyfishChaetodon pelewensisPhoto © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

     Butterflyfish, together with the angelfish, are probably the most strikingly beautiful of saltwater fish.

     Butterfly fish are harder to keep as a rule than angelfish because of their specialized diet. Some are obligate coral feeders so unless you are willing to buy live corals for food, these ones should be avoided.
     The Raccoon Butterflyfish, Copper-banded Butterflyfish, and Merten's Butterflyfish have been used to help rid reef aquariums of the glass anemone aiptasia. In general though, many butterflyfish are a poor choice for a reef aquarium since their natural food often consists of coral polyps.

Click on a Category (or scroll down to the images) to acess each type of Marine Butterflyfish:

For more Information on keeping marine fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Marine Aquarium

Butterflyfish: Click on the small images below
for more information about each one.

Butterflyfish: Adaptable to Difficult
Copperband Butterflyfish	Golden Butterflyfish
Chelmon rostratus	Chaetodon semilarvatus
Klein's Butterflyfish	Long-nosed Butterflyfish
Chaetodon kleinii	Forcipiger flavissimus
Merten's Butterflyfish	Pakistani Butterflyfish
Chaetodon mertensii	Chaetodon collare
Pebbled Butterflyfish	Peppered Butterflyfish
Chaetodon multicinctus	Chaetodon guttatissimus
Philippine Chevron Butterflyfish	Raccoon Butterflyfish
Chaetodon xanthurus	Chaetodon lunula
Rainford's Butterflyfish	Saddled Butterflyfish
Chaetodon rainfordi	Chaetodon ephippium
Spot Banded Butterflyfish	Sunset Butterflyfish
Chaetodon punctatofasciatus	Chaetodon pelewensis
Teardrop Butterflyfish	Threadfin Butterflyfish
Chaetodon unimaculatus	Chaetodon auriga
White-face Butterflyfish
Chaetodon mesoleucos

Butterflyfish: Difficult to Impossible
Bennett's Butterflyfish	Chevron Butterflyfish
Chaetodon bennetti	Chaetodon trifascialis

Butterflyfish: Most Adaptable
Black and White Heniochus	Indian Butterflyfish
Heniochus acuminatus	Chaetodon mitratus
South African Butterflyfish	Vagabond Butterflyfish
Chaetodon marleyi	Chaetodon vagabundus

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Description:
     Butterflyfish have a oval shaped body that is very thin laterally. This shape, along with a protruding mouth, allow them to move among the rocks on a coral reef and find food in the nooks and crannies there. Of course almost all butterflyfish are not recommended for reef aquariums because of their habit of eating corals!

Care and feeding:      Most members of this family are grazers that feed on algae, sponges and corals. However, some are omnivorous and eat small and planktonic animals. Young fish may be easier to acclimate to aquarium conditions and should be fed several times a day.
     All butterfly fishes should be offered a large variety of food including live brine, flakes, and frozen foods of all kinds including Formula I, Formula II, Angel Formula and spirulina. Several sponge based frozen foods are now available and can be fed to butterflyfish.

Breeding:      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.
   See Marine Fish Breeding.  for information on reproductive habits.

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