The Butterfly Lover's Thread

[OrionN]

I got them but they did not make it. The LFS keep them in copper of unknown concentration. They were doing OK eating for several days then they just stop eating then died a few days after that. The dither fish I have with them were fine. A tiny Silverbelly Yellow wrasse and a small Convict tang.
So I strike out this try.
They last all of 2 weeks in my QT system, which is a 40gal reef. Plenty of worms and pods for them to dine on.

Disease suppressed by copper? Toxic due to copper? Catching and handling? Disease in my QT (very unlikely)?
I can’t rule out anything other than they died.

 

[Devaji]

I got them but they did not make it. The LFS keep them in copper of unknown concentration. They were doing OK eating for several days then they just stop eating then died a few days after that. The dither fish I have with them were fine. A tiny Silverbelly Yellow wrasse and a small Convict tang.
So I strike out this try.
They last all of 2 weeks in my QT system, which is a 40gal reef. Plenty of worms and pods for them to dine on.

Disease suppressed by copper? Toxic due to copper? Catching and handling? Disease in my QT (very unlikely)?
I can’t rule out anything other than they died.

sorry to hear that.

 

[dennis romano]

Here's a butterfly that is rarely seen, Prognathus arculeatus, the Caribbean long nose. They are a deeper water fish and are difficult to get to eat aquarium food. This guy loves live blackworms

 

[Fishfreak2009]

Finally done with treatment. This guy has spent the last few weeks at 1.009 SG and at 0.5mg/L cupramine. Came to me with prazi-resistant flukes and marine velvet after a local reefer had all their fish die except him.

Doing so well, eating everything, and an awesome fish. Hopefully he isn't too hard on the corals.

 

[OrionN]

I got a new CBB. Has Lymphocystis, but I never worry about this. It just get well on its own in my tank.
Eating well, small female.

 

[Fishfreak2009]

Pearlscale is still doing well, upgraded it from the 20 gallon quarantine to the 75 gallon today, officially in with all the other non-medicated guys while waiting to go in the 5' 100 gallon system we are setting up.

Also picked up these 2 today, Chaetodon ulietensis and Chaetodon ornatissimus. Both have been at the store for about 5 days, and supposedly from a different supplier. Have them in hypo at 1.015 tonight, will drop it to 1.009 tomorrow, since I've gotten prazi resistant flukes from this store on multiple occasions, and did the first dose of ruby reef rally pro as well tonight, which I will repeat daily for 7 days.

Ulietensis eats everything, even pellets, like a champion already. Ornatissimus was eating frozen mysis at the store, seemed interested but still a bit nervous to attempt eating tonight. Both butterflies seem in good flesh, no visible wounds or signs of disease. Gonna let it settle and try again in the morning, and make up a fresh batch of masstick on some coral skeletons.

 

[dennis romano]

Pearlscale is still doing well, upgraded it from the 20 gallon quarantine to the 75 gallon today, officially in with all the other non-medicated guys while waiting to go in the 5' 100 gallon system we are setting up.

Also picked up these 2 today, Chaetodon ulietensis and Chaetodon ornatissimus. Both have been at the store for about 5 days, and supposedly from a different supplier. Have them in hypo at 1.015 tonight, will drop it to 1.009 tomorrow, since I've gotten prazi resistant flukes from this store on multiple occasions, and did the first dose of ruby reef rally pro as well tonight, which I will repeat daily for 7 days.

Ulietensis eats everything, even pellets, like a champion already. Ornatissimus was eating frozen mysis at the store, seemed interested but still a bit nervous to attempt eating tonight. Both butterflies seem in good flesh, no visible wounds or signs of disease. Gonna let it settle and try again in the morning, and make up a fresh batch of masstick on some coral skeletons.

Nice! Best of luck with them. They both look nice and full bodied.

 

[Fishfreak2009]

Nice! Best of luck with them. They both look nice and full bodied.

Thank you! I'm guarded on outcome but hopeful!

 

[OrionN]

CBB is so laterally compressed, it is hard to have a picture show that she is full. I try my best to show a CBB with a full stomach vs the same one when she is hungry,
Full

Hungry. Look at the area of the abdomen between the Pelvic and Pectoralis finds.

 

[dennis romano]

CBB is so laterally compressed, it is hard to have a picture show that she is full. I try my best to show a CBB with a full stomach vs the same one when she is hungry,
Full

Hungry. Look at the area of the abdomen between the Pelvic and Pectoralis finds.

I always look at a butterfly's forehead. It should be nice and full like your CBB's. If the forehead is thin and pinched, it isn't eating.

 

[Fishfreak2009]

Eating a little LRS fertility frenzy! Also nipping at Masstick and eating a little mysis off the bottom and rockwork (not in the video).

 

[FilthyFifty]

These fish are some of my favorite being so vibrant and yellow! It’s a bummer the one I had started taking out my SPS colonies and I just had to give up on keeping it my tank. It got to the point I’m scared to risk trying this again. Maybe I’ll start a fish only tank soon so I can keep these beautiful fish.

 

[saltyfins]

are any of these reef safe? I really want one for apstasia...but ....

 

[OrionN]

Lymphocystis, only 2 spots on the L Pectoralis fin. Tail and R pectoralis find are well.
My Convict Tang is mowing down the Xenia. I wish my CBB start to mow down the Aiptasia.

 

[OrionN]

Petco in corpus have this butterfly right now for 139.99. I am really tempted to bring him home. It is eating well and is a fat fish. Healthy too.

 

[Fishfreak2009]

Petco in corpus have this butterfly right now for 139.99. I am really tempted to bring him home. It is eating well and is a fat fish. Healthy too.

 

[Fishfreak2009]

I myself decided to take a gamble on a couple others I had eyed last week at the same store where I picked up the ornate and the ulietensis...

Not the best pics, but here you go. Threw them in together since they were in the same system originally at the LFS and both were eating. I skipped on the panda butterfly (Chaetodon adiergastos) juvenile they had even though it looked great, it would not even attempt to sample any prepared or live foods they tried.

Chaetodon punctatofasciatus, the spotband butterfly

Heniochus varius, the horned bannerfish

And a few poor quality pics of the ornate (Chaetodon ornatissimus) and Double Saddle (Chaetodon ulietensis) I picked up last week. Ornate still isn't eating well, occasionally picks at mysis, LRS fertility frenzy, and masstick, but nowhere near enough to sustain it. Shows no interest in live brine or live blackworms either, or any other kind of pellets/flake/frozen. You can see it is showing signs of pinching (muscle loss) behind the eyes and in the abdomen. I did throw in a piece of Acropora and a piece of Pocillopora, and both were ignored. The Double Saddle is eating mysis, brine, LRS, and masstick, but is super shy around me, and hides unless I stand a few feet away with the room lights off. Definitely the dominant fish though, it chases off anyone who tries to go in the cave it claimed.

 

[dennis romano]

Have you tried clams on the half shell on the ornate? There are several videos on You Tube of them doing well on clam. It's worth a shot. My butterflies look like a pack of piranha when I throw them one. You are lucky to have a shop that carries butterflies. There's only one shop in north NJ that carries them. Usually, you also get a case of Prazi resistant flukes.

 

[Fishfreak2009]

Have you tried clams on the half shell on the ornate? There are several videos on You Tube of them doing well on clam. It's worth a shot. My butterflies look like a pack of piranha when I throw them one. You are lucky to have a shop that carries butterflies. There's only one shop in north NJ that carries them. Usually, you also get a case of Prazi resistant flukes.

Yup. Clams have been ignored by everyone so far...

As for prazi resistant flukes, pretty much always get them... these guys get 30 days at 1.009 SG.

 

[dennis romano]

Yup. Clams have been ignored by everyone so far...

As for prazi resistant flukes, pretty much always get them... these guys get 30 days at 1.009 SG.

Yeah, that was the only way that I cleared the tank, but not until I lost a few of my prize fish, Coradion, C. semilarvatus and a few others.