Golden Butterfly?

stilgore · 05-24-2007, 05:32 PM

An LFS has 3 of these in stock. Can anyone tell me if they are reefsafe? I would love to put a small school of em in my 300.

Thanks,
Stil

boozeman · 05-24-2007, 05:34 PM

nope ..sorry

BoomerD · 05-24-2007, 07:16 PM

In reality, NONE of the butterfly fish are 100% reef safe. Even the copperbanded butterflyfish can/will eat your tube worms, feather dusters, and maybe even some coral polyps...
Here's what Bob Fenner at WetWebMedia says about the Golden:
"Amongst a mix of suitable species of Butterflyfishes hailing from the area, the Blue Mask or Semilarvatus (Chaetodon semilarvatus) Butterfly ranks supreme. It is superlatively suited for captive use amongst its family members in the Red Sea; accepting worm, crustacean, small mollusc and zooplankton type foods, bearing up well under conditions of capture, holding, shipping and processing, and in more modern times, coming down in price to suit a broader range of pocketbooks. About the only trait/characteristic working against its selection, is its "up to plate size" potential growth."
C. semilarvatus
and:
Chaetodon semilarvatus Cuvier 1831, the Golden or Blue-Mask Butterflyfish. Only found in the Red Sea south into the Gulf of Aden. To plate-size, nine inches or so. Omnivore that does eat coral polyps, soft and hard species.
Chaetodon

While they are hardy fish that usually adapt to aquarium life pretty well, they are NOT in the "reef-safe" category...

boozeman · 05-24-2007, 07:22 PM

that deepwater butterfly that liveaquaria has been trying to sell for 1k is reefsafe

BoomerD · 05-24-2007, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boozeman

that deepwater butterfly that liveaquaria has been trying to sell for 1k is reefsafe

linky?

(I perused their site, didn't see anything rare enough to be that spendy, although I didn't click on each individual fish to check price)

boozeman · 05-24-2007, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoomerD

linky?

sure boom, after all... I am Linkman

http://www.liveaquaria.com/diversden...6641&siteid=20

on sale, marked down from $1,299.00

michael_cb_125 · 05-24-2007, 08:33 PM

Ive seen that butterfly on liveaquaria.com a few times. It is always a little over 1000 dollars. They call it a japanese wrought iron butterfly.
Cool looking but not worth 1000 big ones, at least not to me.

cheeks69 · 05-24-2007, 08:55 PM

If your interested in a Butterfly in a reef you could go with the Hemitaurichthys polylepis which is a planktivore. The Chelmon Rostratus or the Forcipiger Flavissimus are usually coralsafe but can eat fan worms and other fauna on the LR. The Golden butterfly could eat anemones soft corals zoanthids and even SPS polyps so I would avoid it IMHO.

BoomerD · 05-24-2007, 08:59 PM

From WWM:
"Chaetodon daedalma Jordan & Fowler 1903, the Wrought Iron Butterflyfish. Found from central to southern Japan on the South side. A beauty that looks like it would be delicate, but readily adapts to captivity, eating all types of foods."

From SaltCorner:
General Husbandry: Has a temperature range of 72 - 78°F (22 - 26°C) and natural diet consists of algae and benthic creatures. Considered a good choice for aquariums. Requires mostly an enriched meaty diet with some algae/green foods, and numerous feedings per day. Provide a rocky environment with numerous open caves and coral rubble. Rare in the trade.
Saltcorner: Animal Library: Fish: Wrought Iron Butterflyfish

I'd still bet it isn't what is generally considered "reef safe", and would make snacks on your corals...

stilgore · 05-29-2007, 10:53 PM

Thanks for the info folks, as much as I would love to see a few of these in the tank I don't think it is worth the risk to my corals.

Laters,
Stil

BoomerD · 05-30-2007, 03:07 AM

I think they'd be great in a large FOWLR tank, but would enjoy the smorgasboard in a reef tank...

05-24-2007, 05:32 PM	#1 (permalink)
stilgore Star Polyps Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Lee's Summit, MO Posts: 160 View Gallery Karma Komment	Golden Butterfly? An LFS has 3 of these in stock. Can anyone tell me if they are reefsafe? I would love to put a small school of em in my 300. Thanks, Stil

05-24-2007, 05:34 PM	#2 (permalink)
boozeman The CodFather ~ Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: new york Posts: 8,800 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Golden Butterfly? nope ..sorry __________________ ...and when I'm old and wise little things mean little to me like autumn winds they'll blow right through me and someday, in the mist of time when they ask you if you knew me remember that you were a friend of mine

05-24-2007, 07:16 PM	#3 (permalink)
BoomerD Reef Shark Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Northern California Posts: 5,633 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Golden Butterfly? In reality, NONE of the butterfly fish are 100% reef safe. Even the copperbanded butterflyfish can/will eat your tube worms, feather dusters, and maybe even some coral polyps... Here's what Bob Fenner at WetWebMedia says about the Golden: "Amongst a mix of suitable species of Butterflyfishes hailing from the area, the Blue Mask or Semilarvatus (Chaetodon semilarvatus) Butterfly ranks supreme. It is superlatively suited for captive use amongst its family members in the Red Sea; accepting worm, crustacean, small mollusc and zooplankton type foods, bearing up well under conditions of capture, holding, shipping and processing, and in more modern times, coming down in price to suit a broader range of pocketbooks. About the only trait/characteristic working against its selection, is its "up to plate size" potential growth." C. semilarvatus and: Chaetodon semilarvatus Cuvier 1831, the Golden or Blue-Mask Butterflyfish. Only found in the Red Sea south into the Gulf of Aden. To plate-size, nine inches or so. Omnivore that does eat coral polyps, soft and hard species. Chaetodon While they are hardy fish that usually adapt to aquarium life pretty well, they are NOT in the "reef-safe" category... __________________ Intelligence is not knowing all the answers, but knowing where and how to find them! www.google.com

05-24-2007, 07:22 PM	#4 (permalink)
boozeman The CodFather ~ Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: new york Posts: 8,800 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Golden Butterfly? that deepwater butterfly that liveaquaria has been trying to sell for 1k is reefsafe __________________ ...and when I'm old and wise little things mean little to me like autumn winds they'll blow right through me and someday, in the mist of time when they ask you if you knew me remember that you were a friend of mine

05-24-2007, 08:33 PM	#7 (permalink)
michael_cb_125 Manta Ray Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Charlotte,NC Posts: 3,228 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Golden Butterfly? Ive seen that butterfly on liveaquaria.com a few times. It is always a little over 1000 dollars. They call it a japanese wrought iron butterfly. Cool looking but not worth 1000 big ones, at least not to me. __________________ 240 Gallon MIXED REEF SUPER TANK Well at least thats what I want it to be 240 Gallon Custom Made Starphire Tank Life Reef Custom Sump,Life Reef Skimmer, Little Giant Return, 2 1200gph Koralias, 2 1580 GPH Tunze Turbelles, 1 Vortec, 72" Solaris I series, PM Kalk Reactor, Custom Made Fug, way to many more things to list Jose say hello to your NEW LITTLE FRIEND!!!!!!!!

05-24-2007, 08:55 PM	#8 (permalink)
cheeks69 Wannabe Guru Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Northeast Posts: 6,630 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Golden Butterfly? If your interested in a Butterfly in a reef you could go with the Hemitaurichthys polylepis which is a planktivore. The Chelmon Rostratus or the Forcipiger Flavissimus are usually coralsafe but can eat fan worms and other fauna on the LR. The Golden butterfly could eat anemones soft corals zoanthids and even SPS polyps so I would avoid it IMHO. __________________ Robert My Cube “A spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe—a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.” Albert Einstein

05-24-2007, 08:59 PM	#9 (permalink)
BoomerD Reef Shark Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Northern California Posts: 5,633 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Golden Butterfly? From WWM: "Chaetodon daedalma Jordan & Fowler 1903, the Wrought Iron Butterflyfish. Found from central to southern Japan on the South side. A beauty that looks like it would be delicate, but readily adapts to captivity, eating all types of foods." From SaltCorner: General Husbandry: Has a temperature range of 72 - 78°F (22 - 26°C) and natural diet consists of algae and benthic creatures. Considered a good choice for aquariums. Requires mostly an enriched meaty diet with some algae/green foods, and numerous feedings per day. Provide a rocky environment with numerous open caves and coral rubble. Rare in the trade. Saltcorner: Animal Library: Fish: Wrought Iron Butterflyfish I'd still bet it isn't what is generally considered "reef safe", and would make snacks on your corals... __________________ Intelligence is not knowing all the answers, but knowing where and how to find them! www.google.com

05-29-2007, 10:53 PM	#10 (permalink)
stilgore Star Polyps Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Lee's Summit, MO Posts: 160 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Golden Butterfly? Thanks for the info folks, as much as I would love to see a few of these in the tank I don't think it is worth the risk to my corals. Laters, Stil

05-30-2007, 03:07 AM	#11 (permalink)
BoomerD Reef Shark Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Northern California Posts: 5,633 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Golden Butterfly? I think they'd be great in a large FOWLR tank, but would enjoy the smorgasboard in a reef tank... __________________ Intelligence is not knowing all the answers, but knowing where and how to find them! www.google.com

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