Chaetodon melapterus - Arabian Butterfly

[captainandy]

Anyone ever have experience with the Arabian Butterfly, Chaetodon melapterus. Mistakenly a pair came in to my LFS and picked them up and hope to transition them from SPS. Put them in my large reef for now. They do pick at fresh steamer clams.

Once acclimated, might donate them to Boston Aquarium. Any successful experience with them?

[JamesJR]

None that I have heard of. I had one a few years ago back when I as in fish retail that made it a couple months. I would be surprised if you could transition them from corals. It is encouraging that they are eating steamer clams. I would also try feeding live blackworms. I would keep feeding them the clams and see what happens. You are obviously quite serious about them being that you put them in your reef tank. Keep us informed how they do. Pics would be nice too. I always thought they were such beautiful butterflies. Such a shame they don't take to captive life very well.

[AuroraDrvr]

You can also try affixing food mixtures onto dead/dried coral skeletons.

Another idea posted by a member (forget who) was to shove pieces of food into the pores of a large sponge filter (such as the one seen below). Then weigh it down and place it within the rocks. The food will stay in place, allowing the butterflies to get at it. It will stimulate their "pecking" eating action against a large object (such as a coral head in their natural habitat).

Here's an example of the sponge filter I mean:
http://xs232.xs.to/xs232/08435/r245.jpg

[LauraCline]

There are these mesh type things you can buy at the fish store that suction cup to the side of the tank like the Nori clips. They hold the food inside and Butterflies/Tangs/Angels can stick their mouths through the holes to peck at it.

[philter4]

The problem is that they only feed on a couple of types of coral, and they don't recognise other types as food. Specific feeders are the hardest to get to eat other foods because they don't try different types of food in the ocean so they are programmed not to try different sources in the tank. The only way to be successful is to find out what corals it is feeding on in the ocean then try to get those corals. After it is feeding on the particular coral in your tank you could try to trick it by attaching gel type foods to the coral, but this has not worked with other species of butterfly fish that are obligate coral feeders.

[captainandy]

They've been picking on a couple of montipora colonies and have followed some frozen mysis. Haven't touched a clam yet but they've only been in my system for a few days. Still appearing very healthy.

[philter4]

They will look healthy for several weeks, then start to get skinny and finally die, I'm sorry to be blunt, but they can not be kept successfully without the proper food. They need to eat corals and if you feed them they should survive otherwise don't buy them and eventually they will stop collecting them, preventing more from suffering and death.

I'm all for trying to find ways to keep hard fish and inverts, look at my posts on moorish idols and feather stars, but when you know how to keep an animal and you are not willing to give it the foods it needs stop buying those animals. It is like trying to train a harllequin shrimp to eat other foods, if you don't want to feed it live stars do not buy one. These fish are the same if you are not willing to give them coral do not buy them.

I'll get off my soap box now.

[captainandy]

Perhaps you did not read the initial post but, as stated, they were mistakenly shipped to a LFS and I picked them up at cost as I knew that they would not survive at the LFS and I have had great luck with moorish idols, regal angels, etc.

After 40 years of keeping SW fish I have never seen arabian angels in the trade so I don't think this is a recurring issue with this species.

I also believe that a majority of salt water ornamental fish and corals are bought by the inexperienced an many don't survive the first week.

I am a firm believer that the long-term success of a species in captivity is dependent on how they do the first week and that is why I was looking for first hand experience rather than party line anecdotes.

I will be very sad if the pair cannot be acclimated and then donated to an aquarium for all to see. They are fantastically beautiful.

[captainandy]

They've lost their shyness today and are picking at all my sps. I think I'll let them do this for another day or two then move them out

[philter4]

Captainandy, I didn't mean to single you out, but even if your LFS didn't order them, someone (you) took them so they may in fact get more. Now if they gave them to you in the hopes of just trying to same them then that is great, both of you and the store.

I used to own a store in San Diego (Tropical Fish World for those interested) and if I recieved a coral eating butterfly from a trans shipper we contacted the shipper told them we don't pay for substitutions without prior contact and didn't pay for them. After that we never recieved another coral eating butterfly again. The suppliers know they can't care for the fish and ship them out whenever they can to get rid of them. Again, I have no problem if someone wants to try a hard to keep species of fish or invert, and if your only reason for aquiring the pr was to try to save them then I appologize if I offended you, it's just that at this time those of us in the industry or advanced hobby should know better.

[JamesJR]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13637373#post13637373 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by philter4
The suppliers know they can't care for the fish and ship them out whenever they can to get rid of them. .

That is so true! I can't tell you how many times we would get strange butterflies from the wholesalers. I actually even wonder if they know what species of fish they are getting.

I remember ordering lemon butterflies and getting speculum butterflies.

[captainandy]

Had to move out most of my sps today as they were like kids in a candy store. Munched on some clam and mysis. Are also cleaning up on the sponges. Didn't know this was part of their diet.