Butterfly Fishes

[Kohan Bros.]

Recently have seen some butterfly fishes and now i want to get one or a pair. I have a 75 gal reef with a varity of sorf corals and polyps, a flame angel, yellowtail damsel, and a sailfin tang that i am hoping to trade in.

My resaerch points to that some butterfly fish nip corrals and are difficult to feed. I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on witch one is easier and better to keep.

 

[mhaynes01]

i love sailfin tangs, my uncle has one, i would definenly trade it in, (no room in that tank with butterflys)

i dont knwo much about butterflys but i am suer they might nip at coral

 

[lando]

Most butterflies will nip at soft corals. I belive that the yellow long nose is considered reef safe. I have a copperband in my reef tank and it does not bother anything. The key is keeping it well fed so it does not see your corals as a snack. I have also heard the masked butterfly is safe for reefs. You are right in the fact that most are very picky eaters.

 

[SquishyFish]

Heniochus Butterflies are reef safe. They are the black and white ones with the long banner. There are two different types of Heni's though. The way to tell the reef safe one is to look at the striping. Picture the fish as a triangle....Nose, dorsal, and anal fin being the points. One of the stripes should terminate at the anal fin point of the triangle. If thats the case....he is the reef safe variety.

 

[lando]

I also thought about mentioning the heni. However, these are fish that do best in a group of at least two or three. I do not feel a 50 gal. is condusive to house this many individuals. I would not even try it in my 72 gal. They just need a lot of open swimming space to be happy. If I had a bigger tank I would love to get a few of these. They are really cool fish.

 

[MYTY1705]

I have one heni in a 65 gal with a niger trigger and a porc puffer. They all seem to work fine together. They all huddle in one area of the tank in the morning and then swim together alot of the day. Don't know if this is normal but they all love to hang out.