Eastern Triangle butterflyfish

[Naraku]

Anyone know where I can find a pair?

Preferably Fiji, Tonga, Tahiti rather than Indonesia, philipines.

[suta4242]

Guess you know they are a real pain to get eating enough food to sustain the fish long term?

They also are found in Australia, not rare at all. Frequently imported too with one importer often providing them eating pellets. No idea about long term success though. :strange:


:wave:

[Naraku]

which importer provide pellet eaters? I might ask my lfs to try them.

[suta4242]

Sorry it's a local importer here and I don't think he will tell me which exporter he gets it from...but I'm sure if you snoop around maybe you can find a similar one.

Fwiw I don't think they're as hard to get feeding as Meyers etc...just hard to sustain.
maybe just try to get a fresh one off the reef and do the training yourself?

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

:wave:

[mike61289]

Their diet consists of mostly coral polyps. Pellets don't include the same nutrients that polyps do and won't be a sustainable diet for the butterfly. It should honestly remain in the ocean, along with the other coralivores. We're just damaging their population size every time we take these kinds of fish from the ocean.

I would reconsider and look into another fish if I were you.

[suta4242]

I presume the OP understands the risks.

Ironically some obligate corallivores can readily learn to eat alternate foods - I see it regularly with butterflys locally caught and shipped to my LFS. Will this work long term? IME with frozen DIY foods no. With pellets, doubtful.

But if someone is going to purchase with the intent to try a different method of feeding, you won't stop them. JMO.

[mike61289]

I presume the OP understands the risks.

Ironically some obligate corallivores can readily learn to eat alternate foods - I see it regularly with butterflys locally caught and shipped to my LFS. Will this work long term? IME with frozen DIY foods no. With pellets, doubtful.

But if someone is going to purchase with the intent to try a different method of feeding, you won't stop them. JMO.

Sad but true about the food and that I likely won't stop them from doing what they want.

My intent is to have the OP and others see the big picture of the damage that can be done by removing this species from the ocean. It doesn't adjust to captive diets and just suffers because of it. Is it worth having a pretty fish in one's tank, knowing it will likely suffer from malnutrition and die a couple of weeks later? There are other preferable marine fish that will thrive and are just as beautiful (if not more gorgeous) as the eastern triangular butterflyfish. It's important to understand that some fish should just be left in the ocean for their own good, this species being one of them.

[Naraku]

I strongly believe if I can get them to eat spectrum pellets, they will survive. However, getting to eat is the most challenging. I assume they are similar in difficulty to the red sea larvatus.

In my experience, the tendency to eat is individualistic. Even in easy to keep types, some will eat, while others won't.

[mike61289]

I strongly believe if I can get them to eat spectrum pellets, they will survive. However, getting to eat is the most challenging. I assume they are similar in difficulty to the red sea larvatus.

In my experience, the tendency to eat is individualistic. Even in easy to keep types, some will eat, while others won't.

The problem isn't about getting the fish to eat. It's about providing a proper diet. Spectrum pellets have nothing that is natural to this butterfly's diet. The fish will eat it but won't survive on it. It would be like feeding a cat a diet that was exclusively vegetables. Cats can eat it, but they don't have the proper enzymes to metabolize the food because they're carnivores. That means the cat will suffer from lack of proper nutrients (aka malnutrition). That cat would get sick and eventually perish.

That's what the situation would be for this butterflyfish of you're relying on spectrum pellets.

[suta4242]

The problem isn't about getting the fish to eat. It's about providing a proper diet. Spectrum pellets have nothing that is natural to this butterfly's diet. The fish will eat it but won't survive on it...

Naruku, I should have clarified my post. I have tried two corallivores in the past few years and unfortunately agree with the above. Pellets may be a useful dietary adjunct, but that's all. It was such an emotional roller coaster ride - these fish are very smart and interactive, and will happily hand feed. That makes the experience much tougher.

But this last butterfly was really heartbreaking. Fed continuously, every 60- 90 minutes he ravenously ate: pacific oysters, thin squid membrane, prawn head. Less enthusiastically:micro algae from a rock, mysis shrimp, live blackworms, prawn flesh. No pellets.

Since it was fresh from the reef he was fat. Despite eating all day long the fish became emaciated over several months, complete with a sunken head. At the end of six months he looked like a thin half dead butterfly despite always having a big stomach. I felt so sorry for him that I moved acro colonies into his tank. Guess what? He was so used to his junk food he wouldn't eat it...in the end I euthanised him. Could he have lived longer? Possibly another month or two, but to what end?.:sad1:

The commitment needed for these fish is high, but I won't be trying another unless acro will comprise the majority of the diet. I certainly understand the appeal of these stunning fish, so I'm not judging you... just sharing my experience.