|
Home | Marine Aquariums |
Freshwater Aquariums |
Planted Aquariums |
Brackish Systems |
Ponds,
lakes & fountains |
Turtles & Amphibians |
Aquatic Business |
Aquatic Science |
Ask the WWM Crew a Question |
Please visit our Sponsors | ||||
Chaetodon ulietensis. A Butterfly With Gourmet Taste! 9/29/06 Hi, <Hi There! Scott F. here today!> I am trying to find out more info on the Chaetodon ulietensis. I have heard that they devour Majano Anemones but would like to know if they will eat more than that if placed in a reef aquarium? <Very likely, yes. Although they may favor a particular type of anemone, the likelihood of them picking on other similar items is too great to ignore, IMO.> Will they eat or pick at clams, SPS polyps, LPS polyps, mushrooms, etc.? Thanks for any help you can give me. Jeff <Unfortunately, these fishes have developed a sort of "high end cleanup crew" reputation, but the fact is they are Butterflyfishes, and certainly will munch on the gamut of typical reef inhabitants (soft corals, zooanthids, hard corals, etc.). I would only keep this animal if you are prepared for the collateral damage that they can cause to your reef system. As aquarium fish, however, they are attractive, active, and relatively adaptable. Hope this helps! Regards, Scott F.> Jeff Reed Getting Double Saddle
Butterfly to eat - 3/1/2006 Hi Bob and Crew....hope
you're all keeping well. <I am, thanks> I acquired a Double
Saddle Butterfly last weekend for my 55 Gall FOWLR. <... a small
world for this species> I made sure I acclimated him properly and
added him to the tank on Saturday afternoon. Only other inhabitants are
a couple of Green Chromis. <Can be bullies in such a sized system,
tankmate> I was told by my LFS that he would eat pretty much
anything..... <Mmm, when in good health, adjusted... yes> I'd
done some research on your site first and found out that he is one of
the easier to keep butterflies. Anyways after he'd been in the tank
for around 5 hours, I added some Mysis for my Chromis and he seemed to
have a bit of a go at it as well (I'm not sure if he actually ate
any of it because the lights were out). <Not likely to feed the
first day or two> Day 2 I gave more Mysis and as soon as it hit the
water he was up looking for it, but turned his nose up at it when he
saw what it was. Next day I tried again, but added some Garlic Extreme
before feeding. He went into a frenzy but again never took any (I also
added some very finely chopped Mussel). Day 3 (today) and same...he was
actually at the front of the tank looking for food when I came home
from work. <Mmm, might have damaged mouth... very common... from
capture, transport, bagging...> I'm not overly concerned,
because he looks a really healthy specimen. He's about 3 inches and
acting fine. I'm off to my LFS tomorrow to pick up some live Brine
Shrimp (does this sound OK?) <For periodic use, yes> ....can you
suggest anything else to get him eating? <Posted... on WWM...>
I've noticed he has a pick at the LR so hopefully he's getting
some goodness out of that for now. Thanks in advance Phil P <I do
hope/trust you have healthy live rock in abundance as well. Bob
Fenner>
I recently bought a double saddle butterfly (Chaetodon ulietensis). Since the store was far from home, I asked them to pack it in a large bag with lots of water and oxygen. They did so. Unfortunately, I got stuck in traffic and it was hours before I got home. It also was very hot and the water temperature felt well above 80 when I got home. I moved the fish to a bucket in the shipping water and noticed it was gasping at the surface. I added an airstone (which I have been told may have been a mistake) and the fish seemed to do fine while I gradually added tank water until it was acclimated. I then moved it to an 80 gallon quarantine tank with excellent water quality and a low level of copper. In the quarantine, the fish was no longer gasping but was hiding a little. The next morning (about 18 hours after acclimating it), it was dead. There were no signs of anything wrong on it. In fact, it looked like a great fish even dead (good color, shape, girth, etc.) I've had a lot of success with harder to keep species than this fish. Do you have an idea from these facts what happened? Did aerating the water ionize the ammonia? How should I have acclimated this fish? Thanks for any input. >> I really like this species of Butterflyfish (have collected them in several countries in the Indo/South Pacific. And I think outside of getting stuck in the traffic you did about all you could do under the circumstances, including adding the airstone (in future, oxygen instead of ambient air and an insulated cooler for hot/cool weather are good personal transport ideas). I doubt if you had much ammonia in the shipping water, but if you are curious, next time do test it and yes, if there is much (0.1 ppm or higher) ammonia and it's coupled with a lower pH (let's say 7.8 or lower) you might well be better off with switching the animal(s) to all newer water (buffered to about 7.8 pH, with sodium bicarbonate... the simplest, safest mech.), and from there elevate dissolved oxygen... This is a hardy species, that likely died from "just" overall stress. BTW, it does better being kept in pairs, trios. Bob Fenner
|
|
Features: |
|
Featured Sponsors: |