Pairing butterfly fish - Page 4

ShrimpChipGal · 01/30/2010, 01:33 PM

That black back butterfly's lines are starting to bow hehe.

LukFox · 01/30/2010, 09:25 PM

Alright, I just got home an hour ago (spent the night and day at the coast, meaning they didn't get fed for 24 hours

) and let them interact. There was some flaring so I fed them and it got worse, but eventually they just started eating mysis. Both of them ate heartily, whereas the bigger one wasn't too enthusiastic yesterday. This video was taken 30 minutes after the feeding aggression settled down.

They seem mostly uninterested in each other. What do you make of them?

SDguy · 01/31/2010, 10:29 AM

They look good! I guess time will tell if they get along.

LukFox · 01/31/2010, 11:43 AM

I think things have been going better since yesterday. They slept about an inch apart, and today they're following each other around a lot more. And best of all, during their early morning feeding there wasn't so much as a flared fin in sight. They ate peacefully. I still have trouble believing I got that lucky, so I'll keep an eye on how they're treating each other!

SDguy · 02/01/2010, 07:27 AM

That all sounds VERY promising! Congrats! You have a much larger QT tank than I was using, which probably explains the lack of aggression during feeding.

mrwilson · 02/01/2010, 05:19 PM

"FOWLRAWCTDE (Fish Only With Live Rock And Whatever Coral They Don't Eat)" is a perfect description of my next tank! Looking good. Love the blackback.

LukFox · 02/03/2010, 01:44 AM

Something is wrong with my bigger one's beak. It didn't eat today either.

Here's a picture, and notice the raised scales or perhaps even ripped area below the sore looking thing.

Does this look more like some sort of injury (possibly from the smaller butterfly- the dorsal fins are sharp!) or a bacterial infection, if anyone can help on that?

The smaller butterfly continues to do well. The larger one is acting normal aside from not eating. The redness goes to the other side of the beak as well, though it is very dull and barely visible on that side. The side shown in the picture is the worse side. I haven't noticed an increase in aggression between them, but I don't doubt that there is still a little fin flicking when I'm not around and they're getting hungry.

If this is hijacking the thread just let me know.

I thought it would be related in case it is an attack from the other butterfly.

SDguy · 02/03/2010, 07:33 AM

If you read earlier in this thread, my large specimen had a problem with his mouth too. I was out of town during this time, so I cannot say what caused it. I used Nitrofuracin Green Powder to treat...

LukFox · 02/03/2010, 10:14 AM

Yeah I read that, but I wasn't sure if it was the same sort of thing. So it looked like this?

[EDIT] I'm not sure if it looks better today (it is very small in person), but both of them ate just now. I think it is even more faded on the opposite side, but I don't know if that's just my wishful eyes. Maybe it really is an injury... Did yours eat while it had something wrong with its beak?

SDguy · 02/03/2010, 11:18 AM

No, mine did not eat. In fact, it went almost a week before it started eating again. I thought I would lose it for sure.

Keep water quality up, and hopefully it continues to heal on its own. But it doesn't hurt to have a broad spectrum med available, just in case.

LukFox · 02/07/2010, 05:07 PM

Good news, the mouth healed and has been fine for a couple days. He never stopped eating, so I assume it was an injury. They're getting more aggressive when they see me get near the tank (expecting food) as I've cut back feedings to once a day. I was feeding more than the QT could handle, so cutting back has raised some aggression in them. Hopefully it subsides once they make it to the display. They're both eating a wide range of foods now.

IFbettas · 02/07/2010, 09:33 PM

There is some good information in this thread!

Here's my experience with keeping a pair of yellow pyramid butterflies (hemitaurichthys polylepis).

Although they are normally found in groups in the wild I only had room for a couple more fish in my reef, so I bought only two yellow pyramid butterflies. I quarantined them together with a powder blue tang in a 55 gallon tank. At first they got along great, but by day 5 the bigger of the two (only bigger by 1/2 inch) started picking on the smaller one. It never got bad enough that I had to separate them so I just let them work it out.

After about 6 weeks in quarantine I moved them over to my 180 gallon reef. Once they had more space they completely ignored each other for the next several months. As of today, they still mainly keep to themselves, but they occasionally engage in aggressive behaviors. They both raise their dorsal spines and then charge at each other. They try to poke each other with their spines and then they dart away in opposite directions.

I was hoping that because they are social in the wild they would act similarly in aquaria, but so far that hasn't happened. In my next display I am going to be getting a group of ~6 and see how they interact with each other when there are more fish present.

SDguy · 02/08/2010, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IFbettas

As of today, they still mainly keep to themselves, but they occasionally engage in aggressive behaviors. They both raise their dorsal spines and then charge at each other. They try to poke each other with their spines and then they dart away in opposite directions.

Classic butterfly fighting.

LukFox · 02/18/2010, 03:56 PM

I don't have a compatible pair.

They've been doing a weird twitch for the last week, so I changed the water out for RO water (I normally use conditioned tap) so I could treat with cupramine and prazi together. Since I had to do a 100% change of water, I had them in a 5 gallon bucket with a quick eggcrate divider just in case.

Well they got around my lame divider and tore each other up pretty gosh darn good. Their fins look like crap. I don't think I took more than an hour to get the water changed out and to the right temperature, but they did a good job on each other. I found them with their dorsals locked together. They were doing well together for 3 weeks with only some minor flaring during feeding, but the bucket brought out their mean sides.

The divider is back in the QT, antibiotics are on hand in case the fins get infected, and I'll decide which one I'll keep when treatment is finished.

SDguy · 02/18/2010, 04:24 PM

Sorry to hear it. Mine still get a bit rough with each other during feeding time. Again, I'm thinking this may simply be a function of them being so hungry all the time (they still won't eat flake or pellet). But I have yet to delare them a "pair" with any certainty

LukFox · 02/18/2010, 04:38 PM

Yeah I didn't even risk saying I don't have a mated pair heh. A compatible pair would be enough for me. While they might be fine together in the display, it looks like there would still be some stress on them if I kept them together. It might not escalate into an all out battle like it did in the bucket, but it is still stress they don't need.

Maybe try crushing up the pellets really small? But if they don't show interest at all that might not work. Or try soaking them in garlic, or sticking some in an open clam.

SDguy · 03/01/2010, 10:57 PM

Here they are in their home

tcmfish · 03/01/2010, 11:42 PM

Very awesome tank Peter!! It is coming together great! All your fish look fat and happy, and I think your tank is a great example of why more people should keep butterflyfish.

ShrimpChipGal · 03/02/2010, 01:26 AM

Looking awesome!

LukFox · 03/02/2010, 01:29 AM

Fabulous tank and fish! I love the video.

SDguy · 03/02/2010, 08:37 AM

Thanks all. I know they are pretty "common" species.... but I like 'em

I LOVE the heni's look... but he's growing so fast. I think he's going to have to go into a friend's 300g reef

ShrimpChipGal · 03/02/2010, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SDguy

I LOVE the heni's look... but he's growing so fast. I think he's going to have to go into a friend's 300g reef

I wonder if heni likes sps.

SDguy · 03/02/2010, 09:49 AM

Doubtful.... he hasn't touched anything so far except half dead BTA's

ShellsSD · 03/02/2010, 10:41 AM

wow Peter looking great!

SDguy · 03/02/2010, 11:28 AM

Thanks Shelly... now I'm just counting the days until the YLN BF's eat flake or pellet

01/30/2010, 01:33 PM	#76
ShrimpChipGal Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 164	That black back butterfly's lines are starting to bow hehe. __________________ I love fish but I also like sushi... Diana

01/30/2010, 09:25 PM	#77
LukFox Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Los Gatos, CA Posts: 3,502	Alright, I just got home an hour ago (spent the night and day at the coast, meaning they didn't get fed for 24 hours ) and let them interact. There was some flaring so I fed them and it got worse, but eventually they just started eating mysis. Both of them ate heartily, whereas the bigger one wasn't too enthusiastic yesterday. This video was taken 30 minutes after the feeding aggression settled down. They seem mostly uninterested in each other. What do you make of them? __________________ Alexa

01/31/2010, 10:29 AM	#78
SDguy Fish heads unite! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Diego Posts: 23,384	They look good! I guess time will tell if they get along. __________________ Peter SDMAS member Marine tanks since 1989. ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><((((º> Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT.

01/31/2010, 11:43 AM	#79
LukFox Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Los Gatos, CA Posts: 3,502	I think things have been going better since yesterday. They slept about an inch apart, and today they're following each other around a lot more. And best of all, during their early morning feeding there wasn't so much as a flared fin in sight. They ate peacefully. I still have trouble believing I got that lucky, so I'll keep an eye on how they're treating each other! __________________ Alexa

02/01/2010, 07:27 AM	#80
SDguy Fish heads unite! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Diego Posts: 23,384	That all sounds VERY promising! Congrats! You have a much larger QT tank than I was using, which probably explains the lack of aggression during feeding. __________________ Peter SDMAS member Marine tanks since 1989. ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><((((º> Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT.

02/01/2010, 05:19 PM	#81
mrwilson Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Dublin, Ohio Posts: 917	"FOWLRAWCTDE (Fish Only With Live Rock And Whatever Coral They Don't Eat)" is a perfect description of my next tank! Looking good. Love the blackback.

02/03/2010, 01:44 AM	#82
LukFox Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Los Gatos, CA Posts: 3,502	Something is wrong with my bigger one's beak. It didn't eat today either. Here's a picture, and notice the raised scales or perhaps even ripped area below the sore looking thing. Does this look more like some sort of injury (possibly from the smaller butterfly- the dorsal fins are sharp!) or a bacterial infection, if anyone can help on that? The smaller butterfly continues to do well. The larger one is acting normal aside from not eating. The redness goes to the other side of the beak as well, though it is very dull and barely visible on that side. The side shown in the picture is the worse side. I haven't noticed an increase in aggression between them, but I don't doubt that there is still a little fin flicking when I'm not around and they're getting hungry. If this is hijacking the thread just let me know. I thought it would be related in case it is an attack from the other butterfly. __________________ Alexa

02/03/2010, 07:33 AM	#83
SDguy Fish heads unite! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Diego Posts: 23,384	If you read earlier in this thread, my large specimen had a problem with his mouth too. I was out of town during this time, so I cannot say what caused it. I used Nitrofuracin Green Powder to treat... __________________ Peter SDMAS member Marine tanks since 1989. ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><((((º> Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT.

02/03/2010, 10:14 AM	#84
LukFox Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Los Gatos, CA Posts: 3,502	Yeah I read that, but I wasn't sure if it was the same sort of thing. So it looked like this? [EDIT] I'm not sure if it looks better today (it is very small in person), but both of them ate just now. I think it is even more faded on the opposite side, but I don't know if that's just my wishful eyes. Maybe it really is an injury... Did yours eat while it had something wrong with its beak? __________________ Alexa Last edited by LukFox; 02/03/2010 at 10:56 AM. Reason: new information

02/03/2010, 11:18 AM	#85
SDguy Fish heads unite! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Diego Posts: 23,384	No, mine did not eat. In fact, it went almost a week before it started eating again. I thought I would lose it for sure. Keep water quality up, and hopefully it continues to heal on its own. But it doesn't hurt to have a broad spectrum med available, just in case. __________________ Peter SDMAS member Marine tanks since 1989. ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><((((º> Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT.

02/07/2010, 05:07 PM	#86
LukFox Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Los Gatos, CA Posts: 3,502	Good news, the mouth healed and has been fine for a couple days. He never stopped eating, so I assume it was an injury. They're getting more aggressive when they see me get near the tank (expecting food) as I've cut back feedings to once a day. I was feeding more than the QT could handle, so cutting back has raised some aggression in them. Hopefully it subsides once they make it to the display. They're both eating a wide range of foods now. __________________ Alexa

02/07/2010, 09:33 PM	#87
IFbettas Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Woodridge, IL Posts: 1,953	There is some good information in this thread! Here's my experience with keeping a pair of yellow pyramid butterflies (hemitaurichthys polylepis). Although they are normally found in groups in the wild I only had room for a couple more fish in my reef, so I bought only two yellow pyramid butterflies. I quarantined them together with a powder blue tang in a 55 gallon tank. At first they got along great, but by day 5 the bigger of the two (only bigger by 1/2 inch) started picking on the smaller one. It never got bad enough that I had to separate them so I just let them work it out. After about 6 weeks in quarantine I moved them over to my 180 gallon reef. Once they had more space they completely ignored each other for the next several months. As of today, they still mainly keep to themselves, but they occasionally engage in aggressive behaviors. They both raise their dorsal spines and then charge at each other. They try to poke each other with their spines and then they dart away in opposite directions. I was hoping that because they are social in the wild they would act similarly in aquaria, but so far that hasn't happened. In my next display I am going to be getting a group of ~6 and see how they interact with each other when there are more fish present. __________________ Current Tank Info: 180G SPS Dominant, 75 Gallon Sump/Fuge, 3x250w Reeflux 12k in Lumenbrights, Octo Extreme 250 Skimmer, Lots of flow

02/18/2010, 03:56 PM	#89
LukFox Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Los Gatos, CA Posts: 3,502	I don't have a compatible pair. They've been doing a weird twitch for the last week, so I changed the water out for RO water (I normally use conditioned tap) so I could treat with cupramine and prazi together. Since I had to do a 100% change of water, I had them in a 5 gallon bucket with a quick eggcrate divider just in case. Well they got around my lame divider and tore each other up pretty gosh darn good. Their fins look like crap. I don't think I took more than an hour to get the water changed out and to the right temperature, but they did a good job on each other. I found them with their dorsals locked together. They were doing well together for 3 weeks with only some minor flaring during feeding, but the bucket brought out their mean sides. The divider is back in the QT, antibiotics are on hand in case the fins get infected, and I'll decide which one I'll keep when treatment is finished. __________________ Alexa Last edited by LukFox; 02/18/2010 at 04:06 PM. Reason: typo

02/18/2010, 04:24 PM	#90
SDguy Fish heads unite! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Diego Posts: 23,384	Sorry to hear it. Mine still get a bit rough with each other during feeding time. Again, I'm thinking this may simply be a function of them being so hungry all the time (they still won't eat flake or pellet). But I have yet to delare them a "pair" with any certainty __________________ Peter SDMAS member Marine tanks since 1989. ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><((((º> Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT.

02/18/2010, 04:38 PM	#91
LukFox Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Los Gatos, CA Posts: 3,502	Yeah I didn't even risk saying I don't have a mated pair heh. A compatible pair would be enough for me. While they might be fine together in the display, it looks like there would still be some stress on them if I kept them together. It might not escalate into an all out battle like it did in the bucket, but it is still stress they don't need. Maybe try crushing up the pellets really small? But if they don't show interest at all that might not work. Or try soaking them in garlic, or sticking some in an open clam. __________________ Alexa

03/01/2010, 10:57 PM	#92
SDguy Fish heads unite! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Diego Posts: 23,384	Here they are in their home __________________ Peter SDMAS member Marine tanks since 1989. ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><((((º> Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT.

03/01/2010, 11:42 PM	#93
tcmfish Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3,658	Very awesome tank Peter!! It is coming together great! All your fish look fat and happy, and I think your tank is a great example of why more people should keep butterflyfish.

03/02/2010, 01:26 AM	#94
ShrimpChipGal Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 164	Looking awesome! __________________ I love fish but I also like sushi... Diana

03/02/2010, 01:29 AM	#95
LukFox Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Los Gatos, CA Posts: 3,502	Fabulous tank and fish! I love the video. __________________ Alexa

03/02/2010, 08:37 AM	#96
SDguy Fish heads unite! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Diego Posts: 23,384	Thanks all. I know they are pretty "common" species.... but I like 'em I LOVE the heni's look... but he's growing so fast. I think he's going to have to go into a friend's 300g reef __________________ Peter SDMAS member Marine tanks since 1989. ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><((((º> Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT.

03/02/2010, 09:49 AM	#98
SDguy Fish heads unite! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Diego Posts: 23,384	Doubtful.... he hasn't touched anything so far except half dead BTA's __________________ Peter SDMAS member Marine tanks since 1989. ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><((((º> Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT.

03/02/2010, 10:41 AM	#99
ShellsSD Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: San Diego Posts: 128	wow Peter looking great! __________________ Shelly 180g Reef 150g FO 5g FWP (office tank)

03/02/2010, 11:28 AM	#100
SDguy Fish heads unite! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: San Diego Posts: 23,384	Thanks Shelly... now I'm just counting the days until the YLN BF's eat flake or pellet __________________ Peter SDMAS member Marine tanks since 1989. ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> ·´¯`·.¸. , . .·´¯`·.. ><((((º> Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT.