Animal-World > Marine - Saltwater Fish > Butterflyfish > Black and White Heniochus

Black and White HeniochusBannerfish

Family: Chaetodontidae

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Heniochus acuminatusPhoto © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

     The Black and White Heniochus or Bannerfish is often called the "poor mans' Moorish Idol" (and we are tempted to call it the "sane mans' Moorish Idol")!

     The Black and White Heniochus or Bannerfish is an excellent choice for a butterflyfish. It readily accepts all kinds of foods and has a much higher survival rate than the Moorish Idol! Thus, the reason we are tempted to call it the "sane mans' Moorish Idol".

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

Habitat: Natural geographic location:      Black and White Heniochus or Bannerfish are found in the Indo-Pacific: East Africa and Persian Gulf to the Society Islands, north to southern Japan, south to Lord Howe Island. Throughout Micronesia.

Length/Diameter of fish:      Black and White Heniochus or Bannerfish adults can grow to 20 cm (8 inches).

Maintenance difficulty:      The Black and White Heniochus or Bannerfish is generally easy to keep.

Maintenance:      Feed live brine, worms, a good angel or marine formula and a spirulina formula.

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

Foods:      See "maintenance" above. Apparently young specimens have been known to act as cleanerfish, eating parasites off of other fish!

Social Behaviors:      Found alone, in pairs, or in small groups. This fish likes company of its own kind.

Sex: Sexual differences:      Unknown.

Light: Recommended light levels:      No special requirements.

Breeding/Reproduction:      Not accomplished in captivity. See Breeding Marine Fish page for a description of how they reproduce in the wild.

Temperature:      No special requirements

Minimum Tank Length/Size:      A minimum 50 gallon aquarium is recommended.

Water Movement: Weak, Moderate, Strong      No special requirements.

Buy Black and White Heniochus From LiveAquaria.com

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom      No special requirements.

Availability:      This fish is generally readily available.

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Latest Comments
Yeah, this is a great fish. It was very active the moment we put it in the tank and ate almost immediately. It ate everything we fed it and ate heartily; a good change for us as far as butterflyfish go. We love watching it swim and the trailing fin is my favorite part!. (- question- sadly, it died because it got sucked onto the filter tube and couldn't get off before we noticed. we have a subtank filter sytem. we've found some of our smaller fish in the sub tank before so we put a net over the top of the tube. now, it is like a death trap and fish that get stuck on the net get the life sucked out of them. we've taken the net back off, but now, found our small mimic tang stuck in the subtank (thankfully alive). does anyone have any ideas for a solution to our problem?) Thomas 2009-07-06
Remember, Black and White Heniochus are generally not reef safe. It was too late for my beautiful & pricey acan but at least the clams recuperated. tom shern Tom Shern 2008-07-29
This is a great fish. I have kept them in a pair for many years. This fish should be bought when it is grown up as young specimens contain less fat in their body, and if it takes time to start eating, then it may be a problem. Dhritiman Datta 2007-07-21
Comments Dr Jungle REALLY Likes to Hear!
Thanks for all of the great information on marine fish! Keep up the good work Dustin 2003-10-12

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