Chaetodon ocellatus

[surfzone]

I've fallen in love with this particular butterfly, but i can't seem to find much info on them. Does anyone know anything about this fish?

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Chaetodon ocellatus "Spotfin Butterflyfish" | Butterflies | Saltwater Fish | Aquarium Livestock - ThatPetPlace.com

Something else interesting to think about:

List of marine fish that should not be kept in captivity.

[proenca]

As far as I know and I googled a bit as well now, they are zooplakton eaters and their difficult to adapt to aquarium its due to the fact they refuse to eat non-live foods.

Once adapted they are , in hardiness scale, a 5 ( 0-10 ) . Thats what a few websites I've read say.

That list of "LIST OF MARINE FISH NOT TO KEEP" is , well, highly suspicious to say the least. Borderline ridiculous.

I do agree that a grand part of butterflyfishes and some angelfishes are best left in the wild. As well many other fishes.

But listing a Premna Clownfish as a not to keep ?
Power Blue Tang only kept sucessfully in public aquariums ? Achiles Tang the same ?

Puhlize.

I've kept an Achiles, PBT and a pair of Premnas in my old 280g tank... I'm confused that that makes me : a crazy man with a public aquaria ?

Honestly, we should try to educate ourselves and research about each species we are trying to keep and do our caretaking responsabilities the best we can.

But that page...

[Woodstock]

That list is very comprehensive.
I think the tangs are coded as "B" because they get very large and need LOTS of swimming room.
Although many people including myself have kept the tangs listed, they most likely were cramped due to our small aquarium. In nature they swim long distances; something we cannot duplicate in our home aquariums.
I no longer keep tangs in my 4' 120 because I witnessed their 'pacing' out of stress/boredom.

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Originally Posted by proenca

But that page...

I think you should re-read the page instead of just glancing at it. Nowhere on the page does it say "List of fish that absolutely, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES can successfully be kept in an aquarium for ANY period of time".. the title is "Fish that should not be kept in an aquarium." It then goes through an lists often multiple reasons why, and classes the fish as to what makes them unsuited for aquarium life.

It's not unreasonable to want to conserve wildlife. Fact of the matter is that many aquarium keepers can't give those animals the special attention they need to survive in an aquarium. If you could, great! The website isn't attacking you.. it's trying to educate those that are less able and less knowledgeable.

[surfzone]

As far as I know and I googled a bit as well now, they are zooplakton eaters and their difficult to adapt to aquarium its due to the fact they refuse to eat non-live foods.

Once adapted they are , in hardiness scale, a 5 ( 0-10 ) . Thats what a few websites I've read say.

Sounds like live mysis and brine would help in the aclamation period on this fish.

[proenca]

yes and no.

if its not intended to keep the animal for the forseable future, why keep it in the first place ?

if its to keep temporarily to outgrown our tank , why keep it ?

I agree with you on the tangs : but DEPENDS on the tank. some tangs are open water swimmers, they cruse long distances - for example Sohal's, Lineatus, Naso's... you can see from their bodyshape.

Other tangs, like Kole's, Xanthurum's, Flavscens swimm lot less and need therefore much less swimming space / aquarium.

Nonetheless, a Sohal should never be kept something less than a 180g or similar, LONG tang. a 180g cube or tall tank wont cut it.

Im all in favour of education.

Everyone BEFORE every SINGLE buy, you must read what you can - and that REALLY RESEARCH about the fish , coral or whatever animal you are buying.

But giving out "so-so" information is what I critisize.

Heck I have 3 clownfish books. I'v bred them. I know their scientific names by heart. But in a couple of weeks I'm going to add a pair ( well , wanna be pair ) of Perculas to my tank.

I've spent the last 4 or 5 days reading everything about perculas.

In reefkeeping, you never ever ever know everything. Always something new to learn.

[surfzone]

yes and no.

if its not intended to keep the animal for the forseable future, why keep it in the first place ?

if its to keep temporarily to outgrown our tank , why keep it ?

Well most people thought the regal angel as best left in the ocean, but more and more people are successfully keeping them in reef aquariums and skipping the QT period which seems to be in better interest of the fish. Also pulsing xenia at one time was considered and imposable coral to keep, but now it's a weed in everyone's reef. It's people like this, that take such a risk and do what they can to help the fish in aquarium life, who end up educating people in new techniques in keeping what where once thought of as sensitive fish and coral and proving that they are not that hard to keep after all.

I intend to put a trio in a 120 that I'm setting up as a Caribbean Biotope

[sjsoto]

care info is basically the same as any other Chaetodon...

[DaveK]

If you plan to keep an extremely difficult fish, and you have done your homework, and you have the system, money, and time and most of all have a specific plan, then I'd say ok give it a try.

If your the type that just bought the fish or other livestock, and have no idea about how to keep it or what it's needs are, shame on you. This also applies to people that know what that are buying and just figure they will add the fish and see how it does.

Species of butterfly fish (Chaetodon) can be tricky, simply because there is so much difference in diet between the various species. Sometimes even between the individual fish of the same species. This is why some species are easy to keep, and others are almost impossible. Most, but not all butterflys will lunch on your corals, so they are often in disfavor in reef systems.