Pairing butterfly fish

[HOBrien]

I will be attempting this with a Yellow Pyramid BF and possibly the Horned Heniochus or Tahitian BF(love the striking colors in person which look alot like the Chaetodon reticulatus which are coralvors)

[HOBrien]

I am also looking at doing it with a couple of the 5 -9" Angels as well.

[Dakota Reef]

Originally Posted by SDguy

Well, they first get fed around 4pm, and then several times again until about 8. You could call it one long extended feeding of tiny portions, I guess

I have not even tried pellets of flake yet, since I didn't want to introduce uneaten food during meds. Does anyone know if YLN will eat pellets/flake, or are they like copperbands?

I have put a little LR rubble in the tank. I was nervous about putting hiding places like large PVC, thinking that with "territiories" the aggression would escalate? I can give it a go, though. And the sponge filter trick is a nice idea. I can try that too. Thanks!

Good luck with pairing your Longnose Butterflyfish. I kept my last one for 7 or 8 years but sadly lost him earlier this year while away on an extended work assignment.

In my experience Longnose BF's will eat flake food and just about any aquarium fare eventually but it often takes them a while to figure it out. Um Fish's idea is great because the presentation allows a more natural feeding opportunity. In a community tank they're usually too slow to get flake food before the majority of it gets snapped up by more aggressive feeders. Mine also eventually learned to hunt for spectrum pellets in the sand but it took a while.

I've found them to eat much more readily and be far more willing to try different foods than a Copperband.

My current YLN eats everything that comes near the tank. The tangs have even inspired him to peck at the nori clip occassionally!! He's currently teaching my Copperband to eat from my butterfly feeder.

[SDguy]

Thanks very much for the info!! Yours looks great. I'll grab some shots of mine when I get home from work today. The aggression during feeding has lessened considerably since I a. feed in two spots on opposite sides of the tank and b. feed more

["Umm, fish?"]

I'm so bummed. I just lost a copperband that was eating _everything_ (well, except for aiptasia, but it was fat and lovely). It managed to find a way to jump. Grr. The spazzy Kole tang I had in with it must have spooked it (it was only the CB, kole, and a Banggai in a 120).

Doesn't everything eat nori? It seems rare to me to find fish that won't eat it. Heck, even my coral gobies swim across the tank to pick at it. The cleaner wrasses shove the tangs aside to chow it down.

[SDguy]

My YLN's are scheduled to go into the display tank this weekend. So far, so good. Other than the varying levels of aggression during feeding (which is directly proportional to how hungry they are, IMO) they still get along well. We will see what happens in a larger tank...

[SDguy]

If anyone has a suggestion for this, please chime in....
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1776757

[ShellsSD]

Any update Peter, how are they doing?

[SDguy]

It's been a rough week. The Thursday before the weekend that they were scheduled to go into the DT, I came home to find the large YLN with a huge, red, swollen anus, as stated in my last post. So back in went the Nitrofuracin. Thankfully, it did clear after a few days! So, they are scheduled to be out of meds this weekend, and hopefully into the DT in a week or two. Otherwise, they are doing great. Still eat like pigs; still the occasional chase during feeding time, but otherwise they totally get along

[SDguy]

Update: The YLN BF were added to the DT tonight. They follow each other around (so cute!), and definitely no fighting between the two. The established blackback BF is being a bit of a jerk, but nothing bad enough to keep the YLN from eating like pigs, as if they've been in the DT the whole time! So, so far, so good

[Kemmer]

Been interesting to follow this thread. I was going to try to pair up 2 Aurigas, but think I'm going to end up with just one at this point.

Pics Peter?

~Kem

[SDguy]

I am still not very good with my new camera, so I used the flash

[ShrimpChipGal]

Man ... you have a color scheme going there. Lol. The black to dark blue to yellow and white.

[SDguy]

The flame angels break the mold

[SDguy]

Few more pics...

[bradleyj]

Lookin good Peter. What do you mean your not good with a camera? You sure fool me.

[SDguy]

LOL, thanks Bradley. But I was MUCH better with my old Canon... pictures were actually in focus

[SDguy]

A couple pics of the blackback... probably the FATTEST butterfly I have ever seen

[tcmfish]

I really like your fish choices!!!! And everything is coming together real nice! So one question, is that the hawaii flame paired with the other one?

And also have you thought about growing some macro algae to add another color to the tank (green)? I think it would look great in there.

Keep up the good work, and I hope you don't mind the algae comment.

[tcmfish]

Bluezoo has a few cool butterflyfish in the WYSIWYG section, that I could see mixing in well...

[LukFox]

This thread inspired me to pick up a couple of these (one is 3", and the other is 4") last night. They got along in the tank they were in, but unfortunately I only had two to choose from. They both ate in front of me, so I had them bagged up. I let them interact for what must have only been a minute or less earlier today (I have them separated by eggcrate), and there was a little fin flaring and posturing... I got nervous I was stressing them out too soon and quickly replaced the eggcrate. It may have subsided, I am not sure. I know you said there was a little aggression at first with your two, so I might take a video to see if what I saw was okay or too aggressive. The smaller one is already eating pellets, and I'd probably keep that one if they turn out to be incompatible.

Please keep updating this thread; it's been really informative!

[Big E]

Lookin good Peter............is that a xanthocephalus in between the flame & longnose?

I see mushrooms in there.........are the BF's leaving those alone? Any other corals in there they haven't munched yet?

[SDguy]

Originally Posted by tcmfish

I really like your fish choices!!!! And everything is coming together real nice! So one question, is that the Hawaiian flame paired with the other one?

And also have you thought about growing some macro algae to add another color to the tank (green)? I think it would look great in there.

Keep up the good work, and I hope you don't mind the algae comment.

Bluezoo has a few cool butterflyfish in the WYSIWYG section, that I could see mixing in well...

Thanks!!

No, the HI flame got ill in the acclimation chamber while I was away during the holidays. The resident flame then proceeded to rip all of its fins off through the slots of the acclimation chamber It didn't make it...

This new (most likely Marshall Island) flame is TINY (1"), and just came out of QT. Not a hint of aggression from the larger resident flame. The pairing couldn't have gone better

That is a really, really good idea about the macro! I'd forgotten what it's like to not have a tang in a tank However, those meredithi eat quite a bit of algae, so I'm not sure larger macro will be left alone, but it is certainly worth a try!

As for more butterflies, that is doubtful. The tank is already overstocked Here is the rundown, and some ideas about the future...

2 x meredithi - keep
1 x asfur - keep, unless it gets large/aggressive
2 x flame angels - keep
2 x allardi clownfish - keep, unless they get mean if they start spawning
2 x YLN BF - keep
1 x blackback BF - keep
1 x saddleback BF - keep
1 x Heni diphreutes - unsure, they get big, fast. Probably remove soon.
1 x dispar anthias - keep, and add 2 more
1 x bartlett anthias - keep, and add 1 more.

Originally Posted by LukFox

This thread inspired me to pick up a couple of these (one is 3", and the other is 4") last night. They got along in the tank they were in, but unfortunately I only had two to choose from. They both ate in front of me, so I had them bagged up. I let them interact for what must have only been a minute or less earlier today (I have them separated by eggcrate), and there was a little fin flaring and posturing... I got nervous I was stressing them out too soon and quickly replaced the eggcrate. It may have subsided, I am not sure. I know you said there was a little aggression at first with your two, so I might take a video to see if what I saw was OK or too aggressive. The smaller one is already eating pellets, and I'd probably keep that one if they turn out to be incompatible.

Please keep updating this thread; it's been really informative!

Thank you! Actually, as I wrote in the beginning, once I paired these two in the holding container at the wholesaler, they simply circled each other, and then nothing. No aggression. After that, I only saw minor flaring during feeding. Flaring otherwise, when not feeding, IME, is not a good sign...

Originally Posted by Big E

Looking good Peter............is that a xanthocephalus in between the flame & longnose?

I see mushrooms in there.........are the BF's leaving those alone? Any other corals in there they haven't munched yet?

No, it is a small saddleback butterfly. It's the strangest small saddleback I've ever seen. Full adult body shape and colors (except for the eye stripe still being prominent). Otherwise, dorsal filament, prominent purple belly stripes, etc... Very neat. However, he was a bit mistreated prior to me acquiring him, so even though he eats pellets like they are going out of style, he continues to have the pinched forehead. I am hoping it will go away, but as of yet, no luck. Of course, now that he is in the DT, he can be fed a lot more, since in QT one is always trying to balance feeding with water quality.

As for corals, I always wanted this to be a FOWLRAWCTDE (Fish Only With Live Rock And Whatever Coral They Don't Eat) I basically try everything, and see what lives/doesn't get eaten.

Acros and other SPS were ruled out quickly, due to water chemistry not really being watched, and water quality not up to par. I thought finger leathers and colt corals would be perfect, and look great. The blackback BF put the kabosh on that. Currently, I have discosoma, rhodactis, BTAs, galaxia, euphyllia, and some palys.

[LukFox]

Originally Posted by SDguy

Thank you! Actually, as I wrote in the beginning, once I paired these two in the holding container at the wholesaler, they simply circled each other, and then nothing. No aggression. After that, I only saw minor flaring during feeding. Flaring otherwise, when not feeding, IME, is not a good sign...

I forgot to mention there was food in the water! The bigger one was being a bit stubborn about eating mysis so I was hoping the smaller one would give it the right idea (they were eating something smaller at the store). But it seemed like they both forgot about the food when I removed the divider. They are always peeking at each other with the divider, and not just every now and then, but constantly. They even sleep with just the divider between them, side by side. I don't know if they're just interested in each other, or they just want to beat the crap out of each other. I may have to try the group idea, and let them pair off themselves at this point. I'll try removing the divider when food isn't present and see what happens...

[SDguy]

Good idea...how they act with each other with no food present, IMO, would be a great test.