Are there ANY butterflys that are reef safe?

[Anonymous]

Are there?

-Greg

 

[Mouse]

Hinochius Dephrutes, NOT accuminatus they look very simmilar, you will have to be so carefull about this i cannot stress the importance of finding a supplier you can trust to supply the right animal. As far as i know the red sea is the only area inhabited by Dephrutes that does not have acuminatus, so there would be good. Enjoy

 

[toptank]

I have a copperband butterfly that has been in my dominated SPS/clam tank for a few months with no problems.

Barry

 

[M.E.Milz]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote

Hinochius Dephrutes, NOT accuminatus they look very simmilar, you will have to be so carefull about this i cannot stress the importance of finding a supplier you can trust to supply the right animal. As far as i know the red sea is the only area inhabited by Dephrutes that does not have acuminatus, so there would be good. Enjoy

I agree. It is very tricky to tell the difference between these two. Even when I looked at both of these in side-by-side tanks at the LFS, I had a hard time telling the difference. I think that one difference is in where the black and white strips intersect the bottom rear of the fish (I don't remember what the rule is).

As for other reef-safe butterflys besides copperbands and pyramids, you also have tinkers (very $$) and long-noses (although like copper bands, they will eat tube-worms).

 

[PDD]

Go to Bob Fenner's web site at www.wetwebmedia.com - e mail him the question and he will tell you (I think) quite a few options.

Good luck.

 

[MIKE NY1]

A copperband maybe Ok in a SPS/clam dominated tank, but I had one and dusters and softies were on the menu so out it went.

Mike

 

[reefaquarist]

Copperband Butterfly fish. The big thing is to accumulate slowly. I use a 1/4" tube with a Knote in one end and make sure the drip is slow. The copperband does an excellent job on those pesky glass anemone. GOOD LUCK.

 

[Jase]

Hemitaurichthys polylepis, aka Pyramid butterfly. Had a pair in my 120 sps for over 6 months, before they got too big.
Also H. zoster...but not as pretty as the pyramid.

 

[M.E.Milz]

I have a lemmon (sorry, don't know scientific name) in my mixed reef tank without any problems.

 

[HARRISON]

I have a Copperband also. He did a great job on my Aiptasia and I haven't seen him bother anything in my reef tank other than a feather duster. He liked to grab it once in a while. What kind of softies do you think they eat? I may watch a little close and tell you if I see it. I also feed mine right out of the turkey baster! I have pics to show it too.

 

[EmilyB]

I have a blackback butterfly. I would love to have a huge enough reef someday to try one. It eats xenia like spaghetti..

I think it would torment any soft coral, it does not bother mushrooms. I don't have the light on there yet to try much else.

Personality wise, Spike is two thumbs up !

 

[Super Len]

H.diphreutes and H.acuminatus are both plantivores and should be relatively reef-safe. Worst decorative organism they are likely to consume are fan/coco worms.

Tinkers and all other Chaetonids under its complex (subgenus Roa) are not reef-safe. Generally found in deepwater where coral is less abundant, they are "reef-safer." While there are butterflies that will certainly consume coral polyps, species of subgenus Roa are hit and miss. Personally, I wouldn't gamble with and Chaetodon sp.

FWIW: Aside from Hemitaurichthys sp., I do not consider any other Chaetonid genus 100% reef-safe. They are akin to angels: a risky proposition at best. Keep in mind that like angels, butteflies are notoriously hard to capture once introduced.

 

[Matt Lyon]

I also have a copperband and it only ate the feather dusters.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I now have several options to look at. I've always wanted a butterfly in the tnak as it has that "classic" reef fish look.

Thanks!

-Greg