Butterflyfish

Butterflyfish are some of the most varied and colorful reef fishes to be found in our oceans. They are very well represented in the marine aquarium hobby and are common imports to the industry. They hail from tropical seas and look somewhat similar to the popular angelfish. Telling them apart is a simple affair. Butterflyfish do have spines on their gill plates and most of them look somewhat compressed with sharp noses.

Butterfly fish are medium marine creatures that are usually between eight to twelve inches in length at full maturity. This makes them smaller than most larger angelfish like the queen angelfish and french angelfish.

They are not the most popular fish in the hobby despite their beauty. This has to to with their dietary needs. Many butterflyfish are coralivores, which means they consume corals to sustain themselves. This immediately makes them unsuitable to reef aquariums with an abundance of coral varieties.

They can be difficult to feed in the aquarium and most slowly perish over time. With enough training and the availability of live foods, butterflyfish can be trained to accept most frozen prepared foods such as frozen krill and mys shrimp. Some species have been known to consume aiptasia anemones and have been purchased for that reason itself. However, once their supply of food has dried up, they again starve to death.

In the wild, they are found singly, in pairs or living in a shoal within the coral reef. Not all of them are coralivores as a few are planktonivores in their natural habitats. It shoul dbe noted that planktonivores are no less difficult to rear in captivity as they need a constant supply of small foods to consume.

The longnose butterflyfish and the copperband butteflyfish are two of the most popular and common members within the family. They are heavily imported into the trade on a consistent basis and are usually available.