Bannerfish questions

[jasonrp104]

I hate to start a one question thread but I can't really find much on here about these guys. Are they hard to keep? LA says not reef safe but why? Would one be fine in a 48" tank?

[sevendigitcake]

the majority of butterflies arent reef safe and bannerfish are in that category.They will eat your corals. I believe wet web media has them listed as one of the better butterflies to keep so im guessing they arent too difficult if you acquire healthy specimans. And i dont know for sure but i think they might get too big for a 48" tank.

[LisaD]

They are active and good sized. A 6' tank would be much better, IMO. One bannerfish IS considered reef safe, H. diphreutes. It looks similar to a commonly offered species, H. acuminatus, so be sure read up on how to distinguish them.

[JamesJR]

They need a bigger tank tahn 48". There are several bannerfish that make decent reef tank inhabitants.

The H. diphreatus is the best choice and most commonly available for the hobbyist. The H. Singularis and H. intermedius can also make suitable fish for a reef tank but they are far less commonly seen in the trade.

[jubjub]

yeah H. diphreutes and H. acuminatus are the two that you see the most. but they are very hard to tell apart supposedly.