How big is your Longnose Butterfly

newsalt · 06-29-2004, 01:20 PM

I've been considering a Longnose Butterfly as a "feature fish" for my 50g aquarium. Does anyone have one in a 50g (36" long) tank? If so how big has it gotten? How long have you had it? Is it easy to care for? Will it co-exist with my other inhabitants listed below?

thanks

BoomerD · 06-29-2004, 01:49 PM

You ARE talking about fish that get fairly big. From MarineDepotLive:
"The Forcipiger flavissimus grows up to 9 inches. Not Reef Safe. "
It might do o.k. for a while if you get one while it's SMALL, but not for long.

newsalt · 06-29-2004, 02:13 PM

Boomer:
Not contradicting what you've written, but according to Liveaquaria.com...."It is a fairly large Butterflyfish in the wild, but remains a medium-sized fish in the home aquarium." They say 9" max. Who knows. Any ideas for me for a "feature fish"?

BoomerD · 06-29-2004, 02:30 PM

We can bounce quotes from the different sellers for hours, but the point (to me) remains that this fish will outgrow a 36" long tank in fairly short order. IF you can get a 2-3" fish, it would be fine for a while, but be prepared to either trade it in or upgrade the tank in a year or so.
Looking at your existing bio-load, IMO, you really don't have room for a fish that big either. If you use the recommended 1" of adult fish per 5 gallons, you're getting close to max stocking levels already. Maybe a goby or other small fish, but no larger "show" fish.
But, that's just MY opinion, others will say that's too conservative, and you can put a blue whale in there if you want...it's your tank, none of us can tell you what you can/can't do, only give the best advice based on our experience and beliefs.

newsalt · 06-29-2004, 02:40 PM

Thanks for the info. Regarding bioload, I tend to stock on the higher side. I feed lightly, use a skimmer and change 5% of the water bi-weekly. When I had my 15g I had the same inhabitants listed below with the exception of the chromis and the shrimp. All seemed fine. I really want to add a splash of color to my tank. If the longnose as well as the hippo tang are out, what about 3 Yellowtail Damselfish? Will the chromis accept them or vise versa?

Brucey · 06-29-2004, 05:11 PM

I'm with Boomer on this one. I would recommend at least 100Gallons or 5ft of swimming space for a butterfly or Angel (not dwarf angel)
Brucey

Craig Manoukian · 06-29-2004, 09:11 PM

Over stacking puts a huge strain on your biological filtration over time unless you are exporting the detritus, nitrates, and phosphates in some manner. JFI.

Tosh_Auer · 06-30-2004, 06:19 AM

There are actually two spieces of Long nosed butterflys which look very similar except one has a colour change stage. I have read that one is generally substantially smaller then the other as well. You may want to look into this.

Just an Idea

Tosh

Tarasco · 07-12-2004, 01:22 PM

My longnose is about 4 inches long from tip to tail. I've had it since the 1st of this year and it seems to be doing great. I haven't noticed a whole lot of growth out of it though. It is in a 4 foot long 90 galloon tank. Eats just about everything I've thrown in there, from flake to frozen. I have mainly LPS and softies, and it hasn't bothered anything other than my small featherduster population. Very active, fun fish.

06-29-2004, 01:20 PM	#1 (permalink)
newsalt Torch coral Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 574 View Gallery Karma Komment	How big is your Longnose Butterfly I've been considering a Longnose Butterfly as a "feature fish" for my 50g aquarium. Does anyone have one in a 50g (36" long) tank? If so how big has it gotten? How long have you had it? Is it easy to care for? Will it co-exist with my other inhabitants listed below? thanks __________________ Equipment 120g Reef, (2) 250W XM 20K MH, (2) 110W T12 VHO Super Actinic, MRC MR2 Beckett Skimmer, 55g Sump, Iwaki Return Pump Setup August 2006

06-29-2004, 01:49 PM	#2 (permalink)
BoomerD Reef Shark Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Northern California Posts: 5,223 View Gallery Karma Komment	You ARE talking about fish that get fairly big. From MarineDepotLive: "The Forcipiger flavissimus grows up to 9 inches. Not Reef Safe. " It might do o.k. for a while if you get one while it's SMALL, but not for long. __________________ Intelligence is not knowing all the answers, but knowing where and how to find them! www.google.com

06-29-2004, 02:13 PM	#3 (permalink)
newsalt Torch coral Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 574 View Gallery Karma Komment	Boomer: Not contradicting what you've written, but according to Liveaquaria.com...."It is a fairly large Butterflyfish in the wild, but remains a medium-sized fish in the home aquarium." They say 9" max. Who knows. Any ideas for me for a "feature fish"? __________________ Equipment 120g Reef, (2) 250W XM 20K MH, (2) 110W T12 VHO Super Actinic, MRC MR2 Beckett Skimmer, 55g Sump, Iwaki Return Pump Setup August 2006

06-29-2004, 02:30 PM	#4 (permalink)
BoomerD Reef Shark Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Northern California Posts: 5,223 View Gallery Karma Komment	We can bounce quotes from the different sellers for hours, but the point (to me) remains that this fish will outgrow a 36" long tank in fairly short order. IF you can get a 2-3" fish, it would be fine for a while, but be prepared to either trade it in or upgrade the tank in a year or so. Looking at your existing bio-load, IMO, you really don't have room for a fish that big either. If you use the recommended 1" of adult fish per 5 gallons, you're getting close to max stocking levels already. Maybe a goby or other small fish, but no larger "show" fish. But, that's just MY opinion, others will say that's too conservative, and you can put a blue whale in there if you want...it's your tank, none of us can tell you what you can/can't do, only give the best advice based on our experience and beliefs. __________________ Intelligence is not knowing all the answers, but knowing where and how to find them! www.google.com

06-29-2004, 02:40 PM	#5 (permalink)
newsalt Torch coral Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 574 View Gallery Karma Komment	Thanks for the info. Regarding bioload, I tend to stock on the higher side. I feed lightly, use a skimmer and change 5% of the water bi-weekly. When I had my 15g I had the same inhabitants listed below with the exception of the chromis and the shrimp. All seemed fine. I really want to add a splash of color to my tank. If the longnose as well as the hippo tang are out, what about 3 Yellowtail Damselfish? Will the chromis accept them or vise versa? __________________ Equipment 120g Reef, (2) 250W XM 20K MH, (2) 110W T12 VHO Super Actinic, MRC MR2 Beckett Skimmer, 55g Sump, Iwaki Return Pump Setup August 2006

06-29-2004, 05:11 PM	#6 (permalink)
Brucey Reef Lobster Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Reading, England Posts: 1,292 View Gallery Karma Komment	I'm with Boomer on this one. I would recommend at least 100Gallons or 5ft of swimming space for a butterfly or Angel (not dwarf angel) Brucey __________________ 160UK Gallon. (192US Gallon). 400Lbs LR. Aquamedic Turboflotor 5000 Shorty skimmer. Arcadia 3Series pendant (3x250W 14,000'K MH & 2x58W 60" actinic) (DIY cooling fan). Tunze 7095 Multicontroller & 2xTunze 6100 Streams. Redsea 100 Aquazone Plus ozonizer and redox computer. Aquamedic Ocean Runner 6500 return. TMC Vectron 30W UV sterilizer. Aquamedic Aquaniveau auto top up system through Deltec 500 kalk stirrer. PurityOnTap RO/DI. Deltec FR509 (ROWAPhos). Aquamedic PH computer controlling KNOP HD Calcium Reactor. Setup Nov 2002 See my tank here http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...&threadid=4486

06-29-2004, 09:11 PM	#7 (permalink)
Craig Manoukian Regular Guy Moderator Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Marina Del Ray, CA Posts: 15,724 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Over stacking puts a huge strain on your biological filtration over time unless you are exporting the detritus, nitrates, and phosphates in some manner. JFI. __________________ Currently tankless. 20 Gallon mini reef with mated pair of Maroon Clowns given to Rougiem! 80 gallon reef given to Rougiem/Wooster HS.

06-30-2004, 06:19 AM	#8 (permalink)
Tosh_Auer Scopas Tang Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 469 View Gallery Karma Komment	There are actually two spieces of Long nosed butterflys which look very similar except one has a colour change stage. I have read that one is generally substantially smaller then the other as well. You may want to look into this. Just an Idea Tosh __________________ You Try Explaining to your girlfriend why you cant take her out cause you just spent $300 on lights for a fish tank. lol

07-12-2004, 01:22 PM	#9 (permalink)
Tarasco Plate Coral Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 724 View Gallery Karma Komment	My longnose is about 4 inches long from tip to tail. I've had it since the 1st of this year and it seems to be doing great. I haven't noticed a whole lot of growth out of it though. It is in a 4 foot long 90 galloon tank. Eats just about everything I've thrown in there, from flake to frozen. I have mainly LPS and softies, and it hasn't bothered anything other than my small featherduster population. Very active, fun fish. __________________ Mike "I saw what the governor makes. That's like four hands of blackjack." -- Charles Barkley on why he wasn't seriously considering becoming the Governor of Alabama

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