The Butterfly Lover's Thread

[LaloJ]

How long have you had him? Frozen blood worms? Frozen fish eggs? Clams? (PS, that hiding-pipe looks a little small/tight, unless it's just the optics. Because white PVC pipes aren't too natural, unlike rocks, I've found they need to be about 2x the fish's size to be used.) Best wishes!

Thanks for the good luck! Yes, the PVC pipe is small and tight, but it's there for a small firefish I also have in my QT. There are also cave like rocks to help the butterflyfish hide and feel more comfortable. So far, I've tried pellets, mysis shrimp, and seafood porridge. I'm going to try clams this weekend. This fish was supposed to be eating well since it was with the seller for several weeks. I was tempted to put it directly in my main tank, but I don't want to risk damaging my soft corals.

 

[Jasonak]

Thanks for the good luck! Yes, the PVC pipe is small and tight, but it's there for a small firefish I also have in my QT. There are also cave like rocks to help the butterflyfish hide and feel more comfortable. So far, I've tried pellets, mysis shrimp, and seafood porridge. I'm going to try clams this weekend. This fish was supposed to be eating well since it was with the seller for several weeks. I was tempted to put it directly in my main tank, but I don't want to risk damaging my soft corals.

Sorry man, i think youll have luck using the clams. I've also purchased butterflies that were eating and doing well and then after being shipped to my house completely went on. Strike, I'm thinking of starting a butterfly haters thread. They have been one of the most if not the most difficult fish for me. But they are amazing.

 

[LaloJ]

Sorry man, i think youll have luck using the clams. I've also purchased butterflies that were eating and doing well and then after being shipped to my house completely went on. Strike, I'm thinking of starting a butterfly haters thread. They have been one of the most if not the most difficult fish for me. But they are amazing.

They're amazing fish, but to be honest, I've never had any luck with them. They don't eat anything, and it's kind of frustrating to watch them fade away and die. But I'm going to give this fish a try and keep my fingers crossed.

 

[LaloJ]

I'm sorry to hear about the difficulties you are having with butterflyfish. I wanted to share what has worked for me over the years when it comes to getting butterflyfish eating. I’ve kept a lot of different butterflies, and these are the steps that I recommend to improve your success with butterflyfish.

1. Understanding Which Butterflyfish Do Best in Captivity​

Someone once said butterflyfish are the cut flowers of the aquarium hobby. This statement is true about obligate coralivoires which are butterflyfish that exclusively eat coral. These are the butterflyfish to avoid at all costs. The Wikipedia page on the genus Chaetodon uses a grouping that is helpful to identify good and bad butterfly fish. Butterflyfish in the Megaprotodon, for the most part, are all obligate coralivoires and are very difficult to get to eat prepared foods. There are butterflyfish that are true omnivores, feeding on plankton, small invertebrates, and just about anything they find. The best of these fall into a sub-genus called Roaops, which are mostly deep water butterflyfish that live at depths where coral does not grow, so they eat crustaceans and benthic invertebrates. Some Roaops that are easy to keep but hard to obtain are:

• Declivis
• Tinkeri
• Mitratus

The next group of butterflyfish are the reef‑dwelling omnivores that are easy to find and usually easy to get eating, these include the following:

• Auriga
• Melanotus
• Ephippium (Saddleback)
• Raccoon (both lunula and fasciatus)
• Falcula
• Punctatofasciatus
• Ulietensis (Double Saddle Back or False Falcula)
• Semilarvatus (from the Red Sea)

There are plenty more, but these are some of the most reliable.

2. Offer a Variety of Foods​

Butterflyfish LOVE clams, mussels, and oysters. Those are basically their comfort foods and are great to use when you need to get your new butterflyfish started.

They’ll also take:

• Mysis shrimp
• Brine shrimp (which, while low in nutritional value, is a good way to get fish started)
• Larger plankton (Pacifica plankton works great — better than tiny reef plankton)
• Frozen Black worms

Variety is your friend here.

3. Use Single‑Ingredient Feedings to Find Their “Starter Food”​

When a butterflyfish won’t eat, I find mixed foods confuse them with unfamiliar scents. I’ve had the best success feeding one type of food per feeding, 3–4 times a day.

Things I rotate through:

• Brine shrimp (low nutrition but great for triggering a feeding response)
• Mysis
• Chopped clams
• Chopped squid (my Semilarvatus go nuts for squid)
• Chopped shrimp (raw, no preservatives)
• Krill
• Calanus (rarely, but I’ve had one butterflyfish take to it)

Once you find the one thing they’ll eat, make that your first feeding every day, then introduce other foods later.

4. The Half‑Shell Method (My Go‑To Fallback)​

If they still won’t eat, clams/mussels/oysters on the half shell almost always work. This is my “primary feeding” when a fish is being stubborn. After they pick at the half shell, I go back to testing free‑floating foods.

5. The Hail Mary: Coral​

If nothing else works, you can use small pieces of fleshy coral:

• SPS frags
• Bubble coral
• Other LPS with big polyps

It’s not cheap, but if you have a reef tank with sacrificial frags or a very expensive butterflyfish you’re trying to save, it can absolutely work. This is also how you transition coralivores to prepared foods.

6. Reduce Competition​

Picky butterflyfish get out‑competed easily. I always keep new butterflies separated, either in their own QT or behind a divider. This provides exclusive access to food.

7. Provide Hiding Spots and Lower Light​

Stress kills appetite. Give them places to hide and keep the lighting on the lower side during acclimation.

8. Keep Water Parameters Rock Solid​

Even in QT, you want:

• Stable temp
• Stable pH
• Stable salinity
• Low nitrates

All help reduce stress and promote a feeding response.

I know it is documented that copper can suppress appetite if levels get too high. I only had issues once with high copper once when my CopperSafe hit 2.95 instead of 2.5. This did cause one of my fish to stop eating but it started again once the copper levers were lowered.

9. Do a Full Medicated QT (This One Is Huge)​

I’ve noticed a strong correlation between butterflyfish not eating and flukes, not ich, but flukes specifically.

I always follow the official QT protocol:

• Copper
• Prazi (for flukes)

More often than not, after the first or second Prazi dose, the fish that wasn’t eating suddenly starts eating. I’m convinced flukes impact the feeding habits of butterflyfish more than other species.

Ever since I started doing full medicated QT and practicing real biosecurity, I haven’t had a single wipeout or disease‑related loss in my display tank. This comes after multiple wipeouts from not doing a full medicated QT.

Here is a link to the official QT protocol: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/current-quarantine-protocol.825055/

I hope these tips help. Keep in mind each fish has its own unique personality, so you won't always have success, but this should help identify those fish with the higher chance of success.

Thank you so much man. This is really interesting and valuable information; I was looking for an answer like this. You've practically described a very interesting quarantine method, and it's quite similar to what's done with angelfishes which are also difficult to feed. Regarding coralivore butterflyfish, I've read about a food called Repashi that works well with these very demanding fish, although meeting their dietary needs is quite different and a separate topic about which there's little information, as far as I understand.

 

[kboogie]

I'm sorry to hear about the difficulties you are having with butterflyfish. I wanted to share what has worked for me over the years when it comes to getting butterflyfish eating. I’ve kept a lot of different butterflies, and these are the steps that I recommend to improve your success with butterflyfish.

1. Understanding Which Butterflyfish Do Best in Captivity​

Someone once said butterflyfish are the cut flowers of the aquarium hobby. This statement is true about obligate coralivoires which are butterflyfish that exclusively eat coral. These are the butterflyfish to avoid at all costs. The Wikipedia page on the genus Chaetodon uses a grouping that is helpful to identify good and bad butterfly fish. Butterflyfish in the Megaprotodon, for the most part, are all obligate coralivoires and are very difficult to get to eat prepared foods. There are butterflyfish that are true omnivores, feeding on plankton, small invertebrates, and just about anything they find. The best of these fall into a sub-genus called Roaops, which are mostly deep water butterflyfish that live at depths where coral does not grow, so they eat crustaceans and benthic invertebrates. Some Roaops that are easy to keep but hard to obtain are:

• Declivis
• Tinkeri
• Mitratus

The next group of butterflyfish are the reef‑dwelling omnivores that are easy to find and usually easy to get eating, these include the following:

• Auriga
• Melanotus
• Ephippium (Saddleback)
• Raccoon (both lunula and fasciatus)
• Falcula
• Punctatofasciatus
• Ulietensis (Double Saddle Back or False Falcula)
• Semilarvatus (from the Red Sea)

There are plenty more, but these are some of the most reliable.

2. Offer a Variety of Foods​

Butterflyfish LOVE clams, mussels, and oysters. Those are basically their comfort foods and are great to use when you need to get your new butterflyfish started.

They’ll also take:

• Mysis shrimp
• Brine shrimp (which, while low in nutritional value, is a good way to get fish started)
• Larger plankton (Pacifica plankton works great — better than tiny reef plankton)
• Frozen Black worms

Variety is your friend here.

3. Use Single‑Ingredient Feedings to Find Their “Starter Food”​

When a butterflyfish won’t eat, I find mixed foods confuse them with unfamiliar scents. I’ve had the best success feeding one type of food per feeding, 3–4 times a day.

Things I rotate through:

• Brine shrimp (low nutrition but great for triggering a feeding response)
• Mysis
• Chopped clams
• Chopped squid (my Semilarvatus go nuts for squid)
• Chopped shrimp (raw, no preservatives)
• Krill
• Calanus (rarely, but I’ve had one butterflyfish take to it)

Once you find the one thing they’ll eat, make that your first feeding every day, then introduce other foods later.

4. The Half‑Shell Method (My Go‑To Fallback)​

If they still won’t eat, clams/mussels/oysters on the half shell almost always work. This is my “primary feeding” when a fish is being stubborn. After they pick at the half shell, I go back to testing free‑floating foods.

5. The Hail Mary: Coral​

If nothing else works, you can use small pieces of fleshy coral:

• SPS frags
• Bubble coral
• Other LPS with big polyps

It’s not cheap, but if you have a reef tank with sacrificial frags or a very expensive butterflyfish you’re trying to save, it can absolutely work. This is also how you transition coralivores to prepared foods.

6. Reduce Competition​

Picky butterflyfish get out‑competed easily. I always keep new butterflies separated, either in their own QT or behind a divider. This provides exclusive access to food.

7. Provide Hiding Spots and Lower Light​

Stress kills appetite. Give them places to hide and keep the lighting on the lower side during acclimation.

8. Keep Water Parameters Rock Solid​

Even in QT, you want:

• Stable temp
• Stable pH
• Stable salinity
• Low nitrates

All help reduce stress and promote a feeding response.

I know it is documented that copper can suppress appetite if levels get too high. I only had issues once with high copper once when my CopperSafe hit 2.95 instead of 2.5. This did cause one of my fish to stop eating but it started again once the copper levers were lowered.

9. Do a Full Medicated QT (This One Is Huge)​

I’ve noticed a strong correlation between butterflyfish not eating and flukes, not ich, but flukes specifically.

I always follow the official QT protocol:

• Copper
• Prazi (for flukes)

More often than not, after the first or second Prazi dose, the fish that wasn’t eating suddenly starts eating. I’m convinced flukes impact the feeding habits of butterflyfish more than other species.

Ever since I started doing full medicated QT and practicing real biosecurity, I haven’t had a single wipeout or disease‑related loss in my display tank. This comes after multiple wipeouts from not doing a full medicated QT.

Here is a link to the official QT protocol: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/current-quarantine-protocol.825055/

I hope these tips help. Keep in mind each fish has its own unique personality, so you won't always have success, but this should help identify those fish with the higher chance of success.

Thank you so much man. This is really interesting and valuable information; I was looking for an answer like this. You've practically described a very interesting quarantine method, and it's quite similar to what's done with angelfishes which are also difficult to feed. Regarding coralivore butterflyfish, I've read about a food called Repashi that works well with these very demanding fish, although meeting their dietary needs is quite different and a separate topic about which there's little information, as far as I understand.

Repashy is a high quality fish food. I have never used it.

 

[Tcook]

@kboogie fo you use fresh clams from the supermarket? Freeze them, rethaw?

 

[kboogie]

@kboogie fo you use fresh clams from the supermarket? Freeze them, rethaw?

I will buy clams from the grocery store, either fresh, and give them a good rinse under tap water to remove dirt and other items on the shell. I also like to do a very quick rinse of the meat after opening it to remove some of the gunk.

I will open a dozen or so and freeze them in a ziplock bag, then throw one in the aquarium when it's time to feed.

I find that many of the frozen clams you buy at the store tend to have something added to them, but specialty fish markets and Asian markets tend to have pure frozen clams. I also started feeding Razor Clams because they are dirt cheap, very easy to open, and have a strong scent that can help intice a feeding response.

I like to avoid the "Reef Tax" when possible, but there are times it is worth it to pay the "Reef Tax". If you are unsure of your supermarket clams, you can get the clams on a half-shelf at your LFS. They tend to be tiny and expensive compared to the frozen clams from your supermarket, but you know clams from your LFS have no preservatives.

On a related note, if you opt for mussels instead of clams, it is important to remember to remove the shells and any uneaten meat after a couple of hours. The shells will color the water if left for a long time and the remaining meat breaks down fast, creating dirty water.

 

[LaloJ]

I found my butterflyfish dead tonight. It just hid in the QT tank and did nothing but get stressed. I can't blame my QT for this; I'm sure this fish would have gone through the same thing in my main tank full of live rock and corals. This guy just kept hiding and getting stressed. I'm upset now; I don't think I had a real chance to take care of this fish.

 

[JumboShrimp]

So sorry! What type of butterfly?

 

[LaloJ]

So sorry! What type of butterfly?

Chaetodon rafflesi

 

[JumboShrimp]

Hmmm. Should have been pretty hardy. Did he come 'small' or 'medium' size? Medium might QT a little better-- though I recently QT'd a small one, now in my DT.

 

[kboogie]

I found my butterflyfish dead tonight. It just hid in the QT tank and did nothing but get stressed. I can't blame my QT for this; I'm sure this fish would have gone through the same thing in my main tank full of live rock and corals. This guy just kept hiding and getting stressed. I'm upset now; I don't think I had a real chance to take care of this fish.

Hmmm. Should have been pretty hardy. Did he come 'small' or 'medium' size? Medium might QT a little better-- though I recently QT'd a small one, now in my DT.

@LaloJ I'm sorry to hear about your Rafflesi. I agree with you that the QT is not the root cause of the loss.

@JumboShrimp makes a good point. I like to buy 3" to 4" butterflyfish. I find they do better overall and are much better during QT.

If you can find a Threadfin Butterfly (Chaetodon Auriga) or Blackback Butterfly (Chaetodon Melannotus), they are readily available and are some of the easiest to keep.

 

[LaloJ]

I don't want to try any more butterflyfish right now; I'm going to wait a while to be better prepared. I've heard about C. auriga and C. kleinni as easy to keep butterflyfish, but I think the key is finding a fish that looks to be in very good condition before acquiring it. I never overlook that, so maybe I just need a little more luck.

 

[gabriellar]

I don't want to try any more butterflyfish right now; I'm going to wait a while to be better prepared. I've heard about C. auriga and C. kleinni as easy to keep butterflyfish, but I think the key is finding a fish that looks to be in very good condition before acquiring it. I never overlook that, so maybe I just need a little more luck.

So sorry for your loss. I agree, finding a fish that’s already in good condition is huge. But more importantly, definitely make sure you see it eat at the store before you bring it home!! I had a copperband with a similar issue before — I tried 9 different foods, including live and frozen, and it still wouldn’t touch anything. This time, I got a yellow longnose that I knew was eating frozen mysis at the store, and it was still eating like a pig in QT on day one despite the long trip during shipping. Hope you have better luck next time!

 

[areefer01]

I don't want to try any more butterflyfish right now; I'm going to wait a while to be better prepared. I've heard about C. auriga and C. kleinni as easy to keep butterflyfish, but I think the key is finding a fish that looks to be in very good condition before acquiring it. I never overlook that, so maybe I just need a little more luck.

If you want easy to keep butterflyfish consider Biota's Milletseed Butterflyfish (Chaetodon miliaris). Hidden gem. Bonus points for most owners reporting it eating aiptasia.

 

[LaloJ]

So sorry for your loss. I agree, finding a fish that’s already in good condition is huge. But more importantly, definitely make sure you see it eat at the store before you bring it home!! I had a copperband with a similar issue before — I tried 9 different foods, including live and frozen, and it still wouldn’t touch anything. This time, I got a yellow longnose that I knew was eating frozen mysis at the store, and it was still eating like a pig in QT on day one despite the long trip during shipping. Hope you have better luck next time!

Thanks for the well wishes. This fish was eating with the supplier for at least two weeks, but oh well, I don't want to dwell on the frustration. I need to be better prepared next time. I love the Copperband butterflyfish, but I've never had one, and I've been thinking about adding one to my 150 gallon reef tank in the future.

 

[Louis Z]

I don’t want to diminish your effort . I am not an expert by any means . But I can tell you what I have tried and are willing to try .. live food might be the trigger especially worms : black , grindal or white . You might get by using frozen bloodworms . The red color is like a beacon . Small aptasia might also be on the menu . I have a small 20 gal that houses aptasia just for butterflyfish . Small ones peeled off the sides and dropped in helped me with my white collar . Crushed open crab claw meat is very easy to be picked apart, more so than fresh clams . I do both though. . . I realize you don’t want to try again , but just be open minded and determined to have these in place before you purchase a butterfly again . You never know what you come across . You may see an ideal one later . I am currently not purchasing any new ones yet but will pursue more later when I have more time . I did six months of qt , treatment , and observation of different species . It is time consuming and takes effort . So I am taking a break . I love my butterfly fish . I have two black backed and a white collar . The black backed seem to be the lesser on overall price and hardier . I am also considering Reef Beauties as my next source . The copperbands were my original target , but I had to cut my teeth on the blackbacked

 

[LaloJ]

There's something I've noticed in fish only tanks, especially in Asia, which I was discussing with some aquarist friends a few days ago. The tank is typically completely bare. They suggested that a bare tank might encourage butterflyfish to be more alert and active, since the lack of hiding places and the presence of other fish might leave them with no other option. What do you think? It's a theory we discussed, but I believe that a sterile, bare environment could actually cause more stress for an already skittish and timid fish. On the other hand, having so many hiding places could prevent these fish from ever leaving their comfort zone, isolating them to the point where they stop eating and starve to death.

 

[JumboShrimp]

It has been often said (so-called 'conventional wisdom?') that the more hiding places there are-- i.e., rock holes for fish to run into to feel safe-- they less they will actually do so. Meaning the more they will freely swim out in the open and be seen. My Butterfly fish have a giant rock wall with a ton of places to "hide", but never do. They just glide occasionally in and through, and can be seen the majority of the time. That's been my experience.

 

[Louis Z]

My qt setup has changed a bit overtime . I want simplicity yet I want the fish to feel secure . Depending upon the size or species of fish . I try to go as small volume as possible . Easier to setup and clean and to repeat with new water. I like an overhang , fish seem more secure . I use a piece of tile laid on top of two limestone bricks . Sort of a cave in between and overhang on the edges . But I recently tried the black plastic pond plant holders they seem cave like , cheap and easy to clean and have holes in them to see thru . Spacious opening . Fish can choose to be around or under the basket or within . I suspend it . I also add a big handful of cheatomorpha. That helps with ammonia and the fish feeling secure . I also have mesh bags full of coral rubble that have been sitting in my display sump . Again this is for ammonia control . After I use them in the QT tanks they go outside to bake in the sun to be ready for the cycle again . The cheato can be recycled for next use . I place the cheato in FW for a week and put back into an outside SW aquarium with sunlight .