Any Butterflyfish recommendations for a beginner?

[Zionas]

My tank is 48”x24”x22”. As a beginner, I really like the look of these fish and I heard many are difficult to nearly impossible to keep, but I’d like suggestions on which ones may be suitable for a beginner in a new system.

I want to know which ones are hardy and resistant to disease.

[albano]

Best advice is for a beginner to stick with beginner fish. See if you can handle that first.

[Michael Hoaster]

I had an Auriga Butterfly in my first marine tank. It's a gorgeous, sturdy fish.

[Zionas]

No butterfly species are suitable for a beginner? Not even ones like Burgess, Klein’s, Lemon, Atlantic Longsnout, Tinker’s, Declivis and Mitratus?

[miralami]

Pyramid butterfly.
Beautiful, hardy and most importantly reef safe.

I would still QT and treat before introducing to the tank tho.


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[Zionas]

Pyramid Butterflies are too large for my tank. My tank is only 4 foot long.

[alton]

If you have aptasisia try a copperband. If you do not only buy a copperband that is eating well at your LFS.

[Zionas]

Would two butterflies be OK in a tank of my size? It’s 4 foot and 105 gallons. I would prefer species that are smaller than 7”.

[alton]

This guy was 4 to 5" and lived in my tanks for 13 years.

[Zionas]

@ Alton Pretty cool. How big was he when you got it? Did he grow much?

And when did he die?

[pisanoal]

CBB are not a beginner fish by any means. Vast majority die in a few months. I'd hate to guess the percentage that make it more then a year, but I'd bet it's considerably less then 20%.

If you don't have corals or don't mind the occasional nipping, Klein's are pretty hardy/easy.

Butterflies generally are community fish and get along well with each other, but you will want to check the individual species information. Some are not tolerant of other's of the same type.

[Zionas]

Yeah I’ve heard about Klein’s. What about some of the other species like the Double Saddle, Burgess, Tinker’s, Merten’s, and Declivis?

[HumbleFish]

Originally Posted by miralami

Pyramid butterfly.
Beautiful, hardy and most importantly reef safe.

I would still QT and treat before introducing to the tank tho.

Schooling Bannerfish fit the bill as well. But it has to be Heniochus diphreutes.

A similar looking butterfly, Heniochus acuminatus, will eat your corals.

[Zionas]

The bannerfish get big though. Would one be happy alone and in a tank the size of mine?

What about some of the other 5-6” species of butterflies I’ve mentioned? (Roaps, Klein’s, I’ll add the Double Saddle and Merten’s)

Is any species suitable for a newer system?

[Sk8r]

Make your necessary mistakes before you get a species like that and let your tank mature enough to support them. Butterflies are grazers, off the stuff that grows in a mature tank. Do not plan to just drop food in and hope.

[Zionas]

I see. I’ll hold off until my tank’s more mature then.

[alton]

Originally Posted by Zionas

@ Alton Pretty cool. How big was he when you got it? Did he grow much?

And when did he die?

Two inches I think. I lost him in 2016. Went through a couple disease outbreaks and never got sick. Over my keeping tanks I have had three. All ate for me. He was the only one that ate aptaisia.

[Zionas]

@alton That was a good run.

[ThRoewer]

Originally Posted by alton

If you have aptasisia try a copperband. If you do not only buy a copperband that is eating well at your LFS.

Copperbands are no beginner fish. It's actually one of those fish I would classify as "Expert only". And it isn't the eating that is the tricky part. It's a fish people should only try when they have a couple of years of experience.

And in general, that goes for all butterflyfish - they are nothing for beginners.

[Zionas]

As of 2 days ago, I’ve given up on the idea of having a butterfly for my first tank. I’ll only go as far as a dwarf angel. Butterflies I’ll save them for the future when I get a larger system and more experience.

[Fiish]

Originally Posted by Zionas

As of 2 days ago, I’ve given up on the idea of having a butterfly for my first tank. I’ll only go as far as a dwarf angel. Butterflies I’ll save them for the future when I get a larger system and more experience.

You have made a good choice, I definitely would not put any butterflyfish as a beginner fish, they are all very sensitive to water quality, if you have no water quality or a mature tank either reef or FOWLR just your fish it will not prosper. Dwarf angels are also not easy to keep fish but if you quarantine and offer a considerable amount of food then you will be successful, and don't forget the quality of the water. Good luck.

[Zionas]

Thanks. I’ll stick to tougher species for now.

Edit: Today I came across a fish called the Australian Stripey. From the info I found it seems to be a far easier alternative to Butterflyfish. I wonder if anyone’s got experience with this fish. I know it gets to about the same size as some of the smaller butterflies. Would two or three work in a 4 foot tank? How frequently are they available?

[Fiish]

It's definitely an easier fish to take care of than a butterfly, but I am not sure of its size, maybe you can try a trio but I'm not sure what size it will reach and if you can leave your tank without the possibility of adding more fish, in my opinion, you have a good tank size to hold a trio, assuming they reach a size of 5 "or 6"

[Zionas]

LiveAquaria says they get to 6” maximum.

[ThRoewer]

Originally Posted by Zionas

LiveAquaria says they get to 6” maximum.

Not saying that they are wrong in this case but I would be extremely careful with the information you find on LiveAquaria. I found a lot of incorrect info in their species descriptions. It's best to verify everything you find there (and elsewhere) with a second, independent source.

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