Copperband butterflyfish is not a beginner friendly aquarium fish and requires precision and dedication to be take care of properly.
Copperband butterflyfish, also called as beaked coral fish and its scientific name Chelmon rostratus, is not a beginner friendly aquarium fish and requires precision and dedication to be take care of properly.
COPPERBAND BUTTERFLYFISH DESCRIPTION:
Copperband butterflyfish is found in the Western Pacific, from southern Japan and Taiwan throughout the Coral Triangle to the Solomon Islands and the northern coast of Australia. In the natural environment, they live in depths from 1- 25 m underwater, inhabiting coastal and inner reefs and often in turbid water.
They are typically found singly or in pairs and are territorial thus staying in one area of the reef. Juveniles are solitary, more secretive and found in shallower water. Adults have proportionally taller fins swimming in the open near the sea bottom, forming pairs during breeding.
Chelmon rostratus grows up to 20 cm and is a very active fish. It has flat, circular disk-shaped body and is easily recognized by the copper colored vertical bands over a silver heavily compressed body. It has a black eye spot on its dorsal fin and a black band around the base of its tail fin. It has a fairly long snout which it uses to pick small food from crevices. The young fish are similar in appearance to adult fish. The snout of male copperband butterflyfish has a steeper slope than females and in some cases, a slight hump may be discernible from the profile of more mature male specimens.
In the wild this butterflyfish spends most of its day picking worms, crustaceans and sessile invertebrates from reef structures.
COPPERBAND BUTTERFLYFISH CARE:
Copperband butterflyfish are generally reef safe and suitable for reef aquariums but will decimate populations of polychaete and fan worms and will eat glass anemones. Some may nip at coral, but typically not to the extent of being a major concern in a larger tank.
They need a tank size of at least 75 gallons with water temperature of 24 - 26 °C, pH level of 8.0-8.4 · and specific gravity of 1.020-1.026. They are a very non-aggressive fish, although be sure not to keep them with aggressive feeders that may out compete them at feeding time. It can be bullied by more aggressive fish in the tank, so be on the lookout for this when introducing a new fish. They are aggressive to their own species, so only one should be kept in a tank to prevent fighting unless the tank is very large or a male - female pair is obtained.
In the aquarium their diet should consist of finely chopped meaty seafoods including shrimp, clam, mussel, frozen mysis and frozen brine shrimp. They are reluctant feeders and will need to be presented with live food to keep them sustained. Feed at least 3 times per day (young specimens will need more frequent feeding). Getting them to feed on a nutritionally balanced diet is often the most difficult part of being successful with this fish.
It can take a while to settle in to new surroundings and often the fish will not eat, resulting in deteriorating health. Feeding live brine shrimp the next day after arrival can tempt them into feeding.
They can also be susceptible to lymphocystis which is a viral disease that will clear up over a few weeks by improving water conditions and providing a stress free environment.
COPPERBAND BUTTERFLYFISH SPAWNING:
Copperband butterflyfish was first spawned in Japan in 2016 but the documentation of their rearing cut off at 10 days post hatch of Chelmon rostratus, so still in the early to mid-larval stages.
In 2021, this species were successfully aquacultured by Dr. Cortney Ohs, Katie McCord (RTC funded MS student), Morgan Bronson (MS student), Audrey Beany (Biologist), Peter Woodward (Live Feeds Technician), and John Marcellus (Aquaculture Systems Maintenance), at the University of Florida Indian River Research and Education Center with research funding from Rising Tide Conservation.
BUY COPPERBAND BUTTERFLYFISH RELATED PRODUCTS:
COMMENTS