Golden Butterflyfishes

[Asfur]

Hai, does anyone in of you have an experience in keeping this beautifull butterflyfishes? Please share with me like the way to seduce to eat, longevity in the tank, etc!!!! Thanks a lot for your help.

[neutronics]

I have kept a golden butterfly for about a year. Hardier than most other butterflies. Eats anything - flakes, pellets, brine/mysis. Greedy with healthy appetite, just like tangs.

However, they are very docile -- not aggressive when compared to tangs. Best introduced if tangs (especially yellow tang since they look similar) are not yet in your tank.

They are not reef safe.

If you are interested to buy, get active and healthy one that is about 3 1/2 to 4 inches with no reddish marks on body and fins with perfect mouthparts.

Since they are quite pricey, buy one (or a paired one) ONLY if its eating in the shop. Be choosy for this fish. Must quarantine since quite prone to ich from my experience. This fish will be one of the first fishes to show signs of stress should anything go wrong in your tank, like high nitrate, presence of ich, etc

Best avoid if your tank has ich outbreak in the last one month.

Very striking beautiful yellow fish I must say.

This is based on my experience. Some may have different views though.

However, it died due to ammonia poisoning because one newcomer (a week old with me), the emperor angel, died while i was away, crashing the whole tank.

[Asfur]

Oh, i feel sorry about your tragedy, and thanks a lot for your information for this lovely butterfly.

However, i already buy that fish last evening, and put it to my main tank, i do not quarantine tha fish, since i don't have any spare tank. In my sump live the adult red sea regal angel. But amazingly, he is eating any kind of frozen shrimp and frozen blood worm right in this morning, he competing and not affraid to take a food from my hand along with my majestic angel, saddleback butterfly, falcula butterfly and copperband butterfly. Actually this fish is a new arrival in my LFS, but lucky me he doesn't show any sign of stress during transportation.

[neutronics]

How is the golden butterfly doing now? Is it eating?

Anyway the crash happen two years ago. Have learnt my costly mistakes and now I have a holding tank for new arrival.

I do have a red sea regal angel for a year (lovely colouration with that yellow belly) in that tank that crashed too. It ate pellets only. So I went to buy all different types of pellets For some weird reason, that regal did not want to eat any brine, mysis, flakes (all types) and seaweed. Was healthy while he was there in the tank. Fussy eater with sensitive skin.

Hope all is well for your cool fishes!

[andy777]

Neutronics, how much it cost for a golden butterfly? Thx;)

[Asfur]

The golden is doing very well until now, he is eating well. Your weird experience in red sea regal is happen to me also, he refuses to eat any kind of meaty food except open mussel/clam and crush crab, he also eat greedily on any kind of pellets, so i also do like you do before, i have many kind of pellet even pellet for Lo Han fish. The regal is almost 1/2 years right know, and he is very though and bold, and never strike with any diseases.

Actually my regal is show in my avatar.

[neutronics]

The golden butterfly was bought at $70 and that was about 2 years ago. Now may be cheaper I don't know.

Well, guess just have to keep on trying to vary the regal's diet.

How, got any more current pics of these two fishes ?

[Asfur]

You mean the latest picture of my regal and my golden mask?

[neutronics]

yes you have any pics to share?

[FuEl]

The golden butterfly was bought at $70 and that was about 2 years ago. Now may be cheaper I don't know.

Well, guess just have to keep on trying to vary the regal's diet.

How, got any more current pics of these two fishes ?

golden butterfly = red sea butterfly?

If so, $70 is cheap for a fish. I remember few years ago when they were $200++ per fish.

[Asfur]

About the picture, i will post it ASAP. The regal is still very healthy until now, but bad news to my butterfly, this morning i find my golden butterfly (yes, it is red sea butterfly) attack by WS and strike with external injury in one side of the upper body, it is looks like a wound because it is bleeding. I don't know why this happen, because there is no other fish that bully him, and no other fish that sick in my tank. Do you know why this happen? (water parameter is good, no nitrate, phospate is 0,1 ppm)

[neutronics]

If ammonia, nitrate or nitrate is not the culprit as stated, then I suspect it is due to stress. Mine showed reddish marks on skin at times when stressed, but usually because of high nitrate. So after water change and some skin coating conditioner, he would be back to normal.

You did mention some cuts on its skin. It can also be due to fighting. If they are still fighting, you may have to place the butterfly (or the aggressor) in another tank for this docile fish to recover fully from injury. Hope it is still eating and showing bright yellow colour, and not showing any whitespots.

[Asfur]

There is no other inhabitant that fight with the golden butterfly. Actually is shows a whitespots on the body, i do curious why this happen. 2 days ago he still eat greedyly like i told you before, but this morning he lose his appetite on eating. I'm trying to treat with copppersafe to combat his injury and WS attack. Hope he can survive the illness.

[Asfur]

He is cure right now, and already place in the main tank again. I also agree with you that golden masked butterfly are susceptible to diseases. Because i go again to the store which sell the golden, and i found that almost of them are strike with diseases like my golden. Eventhough i have an experience that this fish are very easy to persuade to eat, because my butterfly is eating well again right now, and the fish is the store which still relatively in good condition are eating greedily also.

[neutronics]

That's great news to hear that the golden butterfly is on the road to full recovery and geting greedy again! Well done man!