The Butterfly Lover's Thread

[Fishfreak2009]

Went on the hunt for butterflies tonight but was unfortunately unsuccessful in finding any that looked at least somewhat healthy. Stopped at 3 LFS, only 1 had any, and they looked rough

I did come home with some really nice wrasses though!

 

[Fishfreak2009]

Snapped a few quick pics today!

 

[awwinterfall]

Snapped a few quick pics today!

Did you have trouble getting the bannerfish to eat in the beginning?

 

[awwinterfall]

just thought I would share. my 200.275 IM peninsula is in the cycling process! tank will be dwarfs angels and butterflies with a wrasse or 2 mixed in.

my understanding is Chaetodon bennetti is a coralvore anyway have success with this fish?

I do. I still have it after 3 years on spectrum pellets

 

[Devaji]

is there a butterfly mixing chart like we have for wrasses? I have seen one, but would be great if there was one.

any BF that one should not mix? I know the amount of ppl keeping BF compared to wrasses is quite small but just putting this out there. maybe one should be made...
hint hint.

 

[awwinterfall]

is there a butterfly mixing chart like we have for wrasses? I have seen one, but would be great if there was one.

any BF that one should not mix? I know the amount of ppl keeping BF compared to wrasses is quite small but just putting this out there. maybe one should be made...
hint hint.

As far as I'm aware, , they tend to fight amongst same species.. I have my mixed butterfly tank for a while already .

Chaetodon auriga always seem aggressive

 

[Fishfreak2009]

Did you have trouble getting the bannerfish to eat in the beginning?

No issues at all. Ate frozen 15 minutes after entering the tank. Ate small NLS pellets within 48 hrs.

 

[Fishfreak2009]

is there a butterfly mixing chart like we have for wrasses? I have seen one, but would be great if there was one.

any BF that one should not mix? I know the amount of ppl keeping BF compared to wrasses is quite small but just putting this out there. maybe one should be made...
hint hint.

I'll see what I can do

 

[Devaji]

I'll see what I can do

 

[Fishfreak2009]

Alright, here we go!

Butterfly Compatibility Chart

First I'd like to point out that this is not extremely broken down with specific complexes as with the Fairy Wrasse Compatibility Chart seen on Reef2Reef and elsewhere. While I do group some species by relation, it is important to note that Butterflyfish phylogeny Is not in the same place that Fairy wrasses are at, and that there is a lot of debate between scientists regarding such, even with the limited DNA analysis that has been done. Grouping has been done using phylogeny off Wikipedia to hopefully make this a bit easier for everyone.

Next, I'd like to point out that this genus has plenty of pitfalls. They are one of the families of fish still most commonly collected with cyanide for the aquarium trade, and most specimens collected that way are doomed. They also suffer from starvation between collection and ending up in your tank, and a skinny specimen often will not recover. Even a fat butterfly should be fed a minimum of 2-3x daily, to keep them healthy and allow them to graze as they do in the wild. Because of their specialized teeth and all their spines, along with their delicate mouths, these fish are prone to injury, and an injury to the mouth is usually fatal. Wounds to fins and to the body seem more prone to bacterial infection than many other species. They are also prone to Uronema, marine ich (Cryptocaryon), marine velvet (Amyloodinium), and flukes, especially the Neobenedenia spp. Many hobbyists on this forum, myself included, have found them to have flukes resistant to praziquantel, and as such, alternative methods of treatment like hyposalinity and formalin are necessary. These fish also tend to be more sensitive to copper products, especially when first introduced. Some of these Butterflies are also deep water fish, and will do much better in a cool or cold water, dimly lit aquarium; not the traditional reef tank most marine aquarists keep.

Another point to consider would be in relation to diet. Many of the butterflies available in the hobby almost always die. They are obligate corallivores in the wild, some only eating one or two species of corals. These should only be attempted by someone already familiar with Butterfly husbandry, quarantine methods, and ultimately willing to feed those live corals, should they be unable to wean those specimens onto a prepared diet. Any butterfly with an exclamation point following the name should be really thought about before attempting, as these are fish that traditionally are doomed to die in this hobby, being obligate corallivores.

As a general rule, the more similar the butterfly, the more likely they would be to fight with one another, with certain exceptions being those naturally found in schools in the wild. As such, I do not recommend keeping more than one per species, unless purchased as a mated pair or if accomodations can be made to split them if they do not get along. Again, the exception being those naturally found in schools, which will be marked with an asterisk, and in which case, adding multiple specimens of the same species at the same time will increase your chances of success. I will attempt to grade them on interspecies aggression in regards to other butterflies of different species, based on my experiences as well as those of others. The most boisterous will be red, with the bold but not as aggressive in orange, those less aggressive yellow, and the most passive and most likely to be bullied in green. Some of these fish may be more aggressive towards others once established, but may initially be bullied by any existing butterflies, especially when it comes to food. When keeping multiples, I always recommend adding 2-3 at a time to help spread any potential aggression. Adding a few dithers like peaceful wrasses (i.e. Cirrhilabrus or Paracheilinus), cardinalfish, or peaceful damsels (like most Pomacentrus or the smaller Chrysiptera) goes a long way towards distracting bullies as well. I'd also add to this that you definitely need to research the individual species you are looking to keep as far as compatibility with other species. Some may be bullied (like established large angels or tangs beating up or even killing butterflies added to their tank), while some might bully others mercilessly (like Johnrandallia nigrirostris or Heniochus acuminatus will do to large fish, rays, and sharks in an attempt to clean them).

Lastly, I'd like to point out that I will only be including species I have either kept, seen for sale, or seen others keeping over the years. Those fish that are not collected will not be included.

Key:
Red: Bold, Most Aggressive towards other butterflies
Orange: Bold, semi-aggressive towards other butterflies
Yellow: Tend to be more relaxed, semi-aggressive towards other butterflies
Green: Very relaxed, peaceful towards other butterflies, usually shy
! Almost guaranteed to die due to diet requirements, attempt at your own risk
* Usually get along with or even school with others of the same species when added to an aquarium at the same time

The Rhombochaetodon Subgenus:
Chaetodon xanthurus
Chaetodon paucifasciatus
Chaetodon madagaskariensis
Chaetodon mertensii
Chaetodon argenatus
Chaetodon blackburnii
Chaetodon fremblii

The Lepidochaetodon Subgenus:
Chaetodon daedalma
Chaetodon interrupts
Chaetodon kleinii
Chaetodon litus
Chaetodon nippon
Chaetodon smithi
Chaetodon trichorus
Chaetodon unimaculatus

The Exornator Subgenus:
Chaetodon citrinellus*
Chaetodon miliaris*
Chaetodon dolosus
Chaetodon guentheri
Chaetodon guttatissimus
Chaetodon multicinctus
Chaetodon quadrimaculatus
Chaetodon pelewensis
Chaetodon punctatofasciatus
Chaetodon sedentarius

The Roaops Subgenus:
Chaetodon flavocoronatus
Chaetodon burgessi
Chaetodon declivis
Chaetodon tinkeri
Chaetodon mitratus

The Citharoedus Subgenus:
Chaetodon meyeri!
Chaetodon ornatissimus!
Chaetodon reticulatus!

The Corallochaetodon Subgenus:
Chaetodon austriacus!
Chaetodon lunulatus!
Chaetodon melapterus!
Chaetodon trifasciatus!

The Discochaetodon Subgenus:
Chaetodon aureofasciatus!
Chaetodon rainfordii!
Chaetodon octofasciatus!
Chaetodon tricinctus!

The Gonochaetodon Subgenus:
Chaetodon baronessa!
Chaetodon triangulum!
Chaetodon larvatus!

The Megaprotodon Subgenus:
Chaetodon trifascialis!

The Tetrachaetodon Subgenus:
Chaetodon andamanensis!
Chaetodon zanzibarensis!
Chaetodon speculum!
Chaetodon plebius!
Chaetodon bennetti!

The Rhabdophorus Group:
Chaetodon auriga
Chaetodon vagabundus
Chaetodon decussatus
Chaetodon falcula
Chaetodon ulietensis
Chaetodon adiergastos
Chaetodon auripes
Chaetodon collare
Chaetodon ephippium
Chaetodon xanthocephalus
Chaetodon wiebeli
Chaetodon semilarvatus
Chaetodon semeion
Chaetodon rafflesi
Chaetodon selene
Chaetodon flavirostris
Chaetodon lunula
Chaetodon fasciatus
Chaetodon gardineri
Chaetodon leucopleura
Chaetodon lineolatus
Chaetodon melannotus
Chaetodon mesoleucos
Chaetodon nigropunctatus
Chaetodon ocellicaudus
Chaetodon oxycephalus
Chaetodon pictus

The Robustus/Senso Stricto Group:
Chaetodon capistratus!
Chaetodon ocellatus
Chaetodon striatus
Chaetodon robustus

The Genus Heniochus:
Heniochus acuminatus*
Heniochus diphreutes*
Heniochus monoceros*
Heniochus varius*
Heniochus chrysostomus*
Heniochus intermedius*
Heniochus pleurotaenia*
Heniochus singularius*

The Genus Prognathodes:
Prognathodes aculeatus
Prognathodes aya
Prognathodes brasiliensis
Prognathodes marcellae

The Genus Forcipiger:
Forcipiger flavissimus
Forcipiger longirostris

The Genus Johnrandallia:
Johnrandallia nigrirostris*

The Genus Hemitaurichthys:
Hemitaurichthys multispinosus*
Hemitaurichthys polylepis*
Hemitaurichthys thompsoni*
Hemitaurichthys zoster*

The Genus Chelmon:
Chelmon rostratus
Chelmon muelleri
Chelmon marginalis

The Genus Coradion:
Coradion altivelis
Coradion calendula
Coradion chrysozonus
Coradion melanopus

The Genus Chelmonops:
Chelmonops curiosus
Chelmonops truncatus

The Genus Parachaetodon:
Parachaetodon ocellatus

The Genus Roa
Roa modesta!
Roa excelsa!

Here are a few of my sources for taxonomy, if anyone is interested.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterflyfish
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaetodon

 

[Fishfreak2009]

Duplicate post, sorry!

 

[Devaji]

Alright, here we go!

Butterfly Compatibility Chart

First I'd like to point out that this is not extremely broken down with specific complexes as with the Fairy Wrasse Compatibility Chart seen on Reef2Reef and elsewhere. While I do group some species by relation, it is important to note that Butterflyfish phylogeny Is not in the same place that Fairy wrasses are at, and that there is a lot of debate between scientists regarding such, even with the limited DNA analysis that has been done. Grouping has been done using phylogeny off Wikipedia to hopefully make this a bit easier for everyone.

Next, I'd like to point out that this genus has plenty of pitfalls. They are one of the families of fish still most commonly collected with cyanide for the aquarium trade, and most specimens collected that way are doomed. They also suffer from starvation between collection and ending up in your tank, and a skinny specimen often will not recover. Even a fat butterfly should be fed a minimum of 2-3x daily, to keep them healthy and allow them to graze as they do in the wild. Because of their specialized teeth and all their spines, along with their delicate mouths, these fish are prone to injury, and an injury to the mouth is usually fatal. Wounds to fins and to the body seem more prone to bacterial infection than many other species. They are also prone to Uronema, marine ich (Cryptocaryon), marine velvet (Amyloodinium), and flukes, especially the Neobenedenia spp. Many hobbyists on this forum, myself included, have found them to have flukes resistant to praziquantel, and as such, alternative methods of treatment like hyposalinity and formalin are necessary. These fish also tend to be more sensitive to copper products, especially when first introduced. Some of these Butterflies are also deep water fish, and will do much better in a cool or cold water, dimly lit aquarium; not the traditional reef tank most marine aquarists keep.

Another point to consider would be in relation to diet. Many of the butterflies available in the hobby almost always die. They are obligate corallivores in the wild, some only eating one or two species of corals. These should only be attempted by someone already familiar with Butterfly husbandry, quarantine methods, and ultimately willing to feed those live corals, should they be unable to wean those specimens onto a prepared diet. Any butterfly with an exclamation point following the name should be really thought about before attempting, as these are fish that traditionally are doomed to die in this hobby, being obligate corallivores.

As a general rule, the more similar the butterfly, the more likely they would be to fight with one another, with certain exceptions being those naturally found in schools in the wild. As such, I do not recommend keeping more than one per species, unless purchased as a mated pair or if accomodations can be made to split them if they do not get along. Again, the exception being those naturally found in schools, which will be marked with an asterisk, and in which case, adding multiple specimens of the same species at the same time will increase your chances of success. I will attempt to grade them on interspecies aggression in regards to other butterflies of different species, based on my experiences as well as those of others. The most boisterous will be red, with the bold but not as aggressive in orange, those less aggressive yellow, and the most passive and most likely to be bullied in green. Some of these fish may be more aggressive towards others once established, but may initially be bullied by any existing butterflies, especially when it comes to food. When keeping multiples, I always recommend adding 2-3 at a time to help spread any potential aggression. Adding a few dithers like peaceful wrasses (i.e. Cirrhilabrus or Paracheilinus), cardinalfish, or peaceful damsels (like most Pomacentrus or the smaller Chrysiptera) goes a long way towards distracting bullies as well. I'd also add to this that you definitely need to research the individual species you are looking to keep as far as compatibility with other species. Some may be bullied (like established large angels or tangs beating up or even killing butterflies added to their tank), while some might bully others mercilessly (like Johnrandallia nigrirostris or Heniochus acuminatus will do to large fish, rays, and sharks in an attempt to clean them).

Lastly, I'd like to point out that I will only be including species I have either kept, seen for sale, or seen others keeping over the years. Those fish that are not collected will not be included.

Key:
Red: Bold, Most Aggressive towards other butterflies
Orange: Bold, semi-aggressive towards other butterflies
Yellow: Tend to be more relaxed, semi-aggressive towards other butterflies
Green: Very relaxed, peaceful towards other butterflies, usually shy
! Almost guaranteed to die due to diet requirements, attempt at your own risk
* Usually get along with or even school with others of the same species when added to an aquarium at the same time

The Rhombochaetodon Subgenus:
Chaetodon xanthurus
Chaetodon paucifasciatus
Chaetodon madagaskariensis
Chaetodon mertensii
Chaetodon argenatus
Chaetodon blackburnii
Chaetodon fremblii

The Lepidochaetodon Subgenus:
Chaetodon daedalma
Chaetodon interrupts
Chaetodon kleinii
Chaetodon litus
Chaetodon nippon
Chaetodon smithi
Chaetodon trichorus
Chaetodon unimaculatus

The Exornator Subgenus:
Chaetodon citrinellus*
Chaetodon miliaris*
Chaetodon dolosus
Chaetodon guentheri
Chaetodon guttatissimus
Chaetodon multicinctus
Chaetodon quadrimaculatus
Chaetodon pelewensis
Chaetodon punctatofasciatus
Chaetodon sedentarius

The Roaops Subgenus:
Chaetodon flavocoronatus
Chaetodon burgessi
Chaetodon declivis
Chaetodon tinkeri
Chaetodon mitratus

The Citharoedus Subgenus:
Chaetodon meyeri!
Chaetodon ornatissimus!
Chaetodon reticulatus!

The Corallochaetodon Subgenus:
Chaetodon austriacus!
Chaetodon lunulatus!
Chaetodon melapterus!
Chaetodon trifasciatus!

The Discochaetodon Subgenus:
Chaetodon aureofasciatus!
Chaetodon rainfordii!
Chaetodon octofasciatus!
Chaetodon tricinctus!

The Gonochaetodon Subgenus:
Chaetodon baronessa!
Chaetodon triangulum!
Chaetodon larvatus!

The Megaprotodon Subgenus:
Chaetodon trifascialis!

The Tetrachaetodon Subgenus:
Chaetodon andamanensis!
Chaetodon zanzibarensis!
Chaetodon speculum!
Chaetodon plebius!
Chaetodon bennetti!

The Rhabdophorus Group:
Chaetodon auriga
Chaetodon vagabundus
Chaetodon decussatus
Chaetodon falcula
Chaetodon ulietensis
Chaetodon adiergastos
Chaetodon auripes
Chaetodon collare
Chaetodon ephippium
Chaetodon xanthocephalus
Chaetodon wiebeli
Chaetodon semilarvatus
Chaetodon semeion
Chaetodon rafflesi
Chaetodon selene
Chaetodon flavirostris
Chaetodon lunula
Chaetodon fasciatus
Chaetodon gardineri
Chaetodon leucopleura
Chaetodon lineolatus
Chaetodon melannotus
Chaetodon mesoleucos
Chaetodon nigropunctatus
Chaetodon ocellicaudus
Chaetodon oxycephalus
Chaetodon pictus

The Robustus/Senso Stricto Group:
Chaetodon capistratus!
Chaetodon ocellatus
Chaetodon striatus
Chaetodon robustus

The Genus Heniochus:
Heniochus acuminatus*
Heniochus diphreutes*
Heniochus monoceros*
Heniochus varius*
Heniochus chrysostomus*
Heniochus intermedius*
Heniochus pleurotaenia*
Heniochus singularius*

The Genus Prognathodes:
Prognathodes aculeatus
Prognathodes aya
Prognathodes brasiliensis
Prognathodes marcellae

The Genus Forcipiger:
Forcipiger flavissimus
Forcipiger longirostris

The Genus Johnrandallia:
Johnrandallia nigrirostris*

The Genus Hemitaurichthys:
Hemitaurichthys multispinosus*
Hemitaurichthys polylepis*
Hemitaurichthys thompsoni*
Hemitaurichthys zoster*

The Genus Chelmon:
Chelmon rostratus
Chelmon muelleri
Chelmon marginalis

The Genus Coradion:
Coradion altivelis
Coradion calendula
Coradion chrysozonus
Coradion melanopus

The Genus Chelmonops:
Chelmonops curiosus
Chelmonops truncatus

The Genus Parachaetodon:
Parachaetodon ocellatus

The Genus Roa
Roa modesta!
Roa excelsa!

Here are a few of my sources for taxonomy, if anyone is interested.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterflyfish
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaetodon

this is pretty epic and helpful.
only feedback or suggestion I would offer woud be to include the common street/trade name next to the latin names.
while the latin name is propper and the trade name can and does differ from area to area I do belive it would be very help for those that are not filmilure with the latin names.
just a thought.

 

[Fishfreak2009]

this is pretty epic and helpful.
only feedback or suggestion I would offer woud be to include the common street/trade name next to the latin names.
while the latin name is propper and the trade name can and does differ from area to area I do belive it would be very help for those that are not filmilure with the latin names.
just a thought.

Unfortunately many butterflies have multiple or interchangeable common names, or don't even have a common name in the trade. Latin names make this list universal, including for Reef2Reef members where English is not their first language.

I also prefer using Latin, especially for butterflies, as NO butterfly should be an impulse purchase. They are not a fish to just plop into whatever aquarium when you come across one you think looks nice. Researching the species you want to keep is extremely important, to make sure it is a good fit for your home aquarium. Knowing the Latin name is important to knowing you are researching the correct species.