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Unread 02/27/2011, 01:48 PM   #26
rssjsb
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SDguy View Post
I personally have never seen one.... and I look
I found one in an LFS a long time ago, but it wasn't healthy and I couldn't save it. Sad.

I've been wanting one of these guys for so long, and may pull the trigger on a flavissimus once I do the move into my bigger tank (hopefully in a week or so). Do you think there would be conflict between a foxface and the longnose bf?


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Unread 02/27/2011, 01:53 PM   #27
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Tough to say... I was expecting carnage when I put a YLN in a tank with 4 year old PBT and tomini tangs. Notrhing happened...they don't even notice him


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Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT.
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Unread 02/27/2011, 02:05 PM   #28
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Hmm. Maybe I'll try and see. I've got alternatives if it doesn't work out.

Sorry for the diversion, Lemon.


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Unread 02/27/2011, 04:31 PM   #29
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Well, fingers crossed. My reef is very mixed, so he'll probably dine on something. I'm willing to remove some corals, if need be. Otherwise, I'm 8 and 0 with my trap

I've had this guy for a year. Eats pellets, and anything else I feed, like crazy, so I'm hoping he's "acclimated" enough to not want coral.










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Unread 02/27/2011, 04:34 PM   #30
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I'd be most worried about those coco worms in the short term.


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Unread 02/27/2011, 04:44 PM   #31
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Those are just empty tubes.


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Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT.
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Unread 02/27/2011, 05:48 PM   #32
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the longirostris "big longnose" can be found. occasionally. it has a longer snout, spots on the chest and the black mask covers the whole eye. flavissimus is the opposite. shorter snout, no blackspots on chest, and the eye mask only covers half the eye. i've even seen hybrids of these two where the spots are very very faint, and the eye is 3/4 covered. but the hybrids need alot of work to search given how similar both parent species are. but longirostris is harder than flavissimus. they eat slower and they are slightly harder to get feeding on frozen foods. body weight is harder to maintain also.

peter you added the saddleback in! it's freakin gorgeous! i want one too! your SPS and euphyllia will be ok. we'll have to see if it leaves the other corals alone. as you've said, it isn't one of the safest but if it were me, i will take the risk anyway seeing how beautiful it is. if it does not work out, he is easy to trap right?

i've kept a semeion in a reef before (not the one i have now) and the only thing he nipped on was my SPS. he left my LPS and soft corals alone. i'm thinking of keeping pomacanthids in reef tanks can be done, then ambiguously reef safe butterflies should be able to be done too. unless they're all different stories.


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Unread 02/27/2011, 06:02 PM   #33
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I'm hoping the fact that he has been accustomed to provided foods for a year now will help the situation. He goes nuts for pellets, so I'm sure he won't be a problem to trap if need be.


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Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT.
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Unread 02/27/2011, 06:21 PM   #34
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Quote:
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I'm hoping the fact that he has been accustomed to provided foods for a year now will help the situation. He goes nuts for pellets, so I'm sure he won't be a problem to trap if need be.
well it's beautiful! keep us updated. i'm sure he won't be too much of a problem


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Unread 02/27/2011, 06:33 PM   #35
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young semeion :}

before i go on, i would just like to say that every fish is different and what works for me may not work for everyone else. so some risk is always involved..


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Unread 02/27/2011, 07:12 PM   #36
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young semeion :}

before i go on, i would just like to say that every fish is different and what works for me may not work for everyone else. so some risk is always involved..
Lovely specimen!

I think that's really the point of this thread... to document what works, what doesn't, and give everyone an idea of the pros and cons of trying to keep these difficult fish in a reef.


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Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT.
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Unread 02/27/2011, 07:46 PM   #37
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here's a tank shot to show the butterflies (if you can see them :P). they're living in an almost cube tank. well, a shorter height anyway.

over the months i've been slowly putting into place my vision of a butterflyfish dominated reef. it's not easy but it's getting there. there's been many gorgeous examples of angel-reefs like copps's tank, but i seldom see butterfly dominated ones. so i'm trying it out and hopefully it works.

i'll skip all the other livestock in the tank. there's a pair of spawning flame angels, a pair of spawning pseudanthias sp. 4 (cf. marcia), a pair of spawning bathyphilus fairy wrasses etc..and a juv pomacanthid

but the butterflies are 1x longnose, 1x semeion, 1x mitratus, 1x declivis. they're only 4 at the moment. i've had a mesoleucos from the red sea and a marginalis in there before. but the marginalis died one fine for no reason after keeping it for so long. i was heart broken but have gotten over it. (it's impossible to obtain another one now. they just don't come in). the mesoleucos did not make it after i brought it back from Hong Kong. it survived pretty well but developed a sore in qt that quickly killed it.

sorry for the blur and washed out photos. the SPS and fishes are much more colourful in real life but i cannot get the colours right under the new 12k bulbs.

i plan to add a few more butterflies and that's it for this tank. if my paucifasciatus comes in, it will go into the reef. i'm hoping to get another marginalis again too.








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Unread 02/27/2011, 08:19 PM   #38
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Not to side track, but your coral is growing great Lemon. Soon your tank will have as many fish as mine. LOL


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Unread 02/27/2011, 08:28 PM   #39
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Not to side track, but your coral is growing great Lemon. Soon your tank will have as many fish as mine. LOL
thanks! i do see some nice growth on my SPS. if only i had a better camera :P

i like butterflies but i LOVE wrasses! and i hope to have as many fish as you and yet maintain an outrageous tank at the same time! hats off to you.


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Unread 02/27/2011, 08:39 PM   #40
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ahhh the mitratus! I read a thread along time ago that stated there are very few butterflies that have the mouth structure to extract the polyp from the skeleton.It also said that most just make the coral mad causing it to excretes some mucus like stuff and thats actually what they eat. I think it was on glassbox and they actually had a video.


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Unread 02/28/2011, 09:58 AM   #41
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My only update to report is that someone bit off his beautiful dorsal streamer Was probably the female genicanthus. She really dislikes this butterfly for some reason.


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Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT.
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Unread 02/28/2011, 01:02 PM   #42
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Lemon your tank is absolutely stunning!
Do you have a build/tank thread?


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Unread 02/28/2011, 01:51 PM   #43
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Peter and Lemon,

Please keep us updated as this contains alot of good, first hand information.

I once had to remove a long nosed butterfly from a 40 gallon reef with mostly soft corals, some fleshy corals and polyps. I did it a night after the lights were out for about an hour. I first determined where the butterfly bedded down for the night. Then after lights out I used flashlight to flush it out. They are stunned and essentialy blind at first and he swam right out and into my net. I didn't even need a trap.


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Unread 02/28/2011, 01:54 PM   #44
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Peter and Lemon,

Please keep us updated as this contains alot of good, first hand information.

I once had to remove a long nosed butterfly from a 40 gallon reef with mostly soft corals, some fleshy corals and polyps. I did it a night after the lights were out for about an hour. I first determined where the butterfly bedded down for the night. Then after lights out I used flashlight to flush it out. They are stunned and essentialy blind at first and he swam right out and into my net. I didn't even need a trap.
What did it eat that required you to remove it?


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Current Tank Info: 240g butterfly and angel FOWLR. 15g QT.
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Unread 02/28/2011, 02:18 PM   #45
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Beautiful reef, LemonLemon. I love the aquascaping. What are the dimensions of you tank?


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Unread 02/28/2011, 04:02 PM   #46
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Very nice.
I'm only on dwarf angels in mine now but happy. I would like to take a calculated risk someday and do what you're doing though - it really is beautiful.

How long did you wait between fish additions?
How long is your quarantine and what if anything did you do to prep them for prepared foods (like Peter's notes?)
Any specific corals that the specific fish hit more often than others?


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Unread 02/28/2011, 10:53 PM   #47
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Lemon and Peter, can we get a fish list. I just wanna document what tank mates your keeping with your butterflies. Thanks


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Unread 02/28/2011, 11:08 PM   #48
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iwishihadgills - yes you are right. most butterflies only nip at the slime and polyps at the SPS but no no actual harm. I've seen my declivis nip the long tentacles off my milliepora, but that's just the tentacles. not the actual polyp. the removal of polyps from the calcium lacuna is very difficult and only obligate corallivorous butterflies can do so. like the ornate butterflies and other species. I THINK! i'm not an expert in butterflies.

thanks everyone, i do have a build thread but i don't update there anymore. the dimensions are 3.5 ft X 3.5 ft X 2ft. it's a "cube"

peter - so sad to hear about the streamer! it will grow back though. and quite quickly i would think. so far so good?

the semeion i has is feeding too little. it's an extremely finicky feeder and if it does not make it, i'll not get another one anymore. and perhaps go for something simpler.

aquaph8 - apart from the butterflies, i have a spawning pair of flame angels (V aggressive). a juv koran angel, various fairy wrasses and a pair of spawning anthias, and the rest are various gobies and dottybacks that hide in my rockwork too well to be considered as "fish list" hehe.

the flame pair is super aggressive to new comers. so i separate them first and release them at night. chasing do happen but only for the first 1 or 2 days. i ensure my fishes are well conditioned and feeding before i introduce them to my tank. except the semeion which refuses to eat in qt. so after qt i popped it in my tank and it's foraging on the liverocks and etc but it won't sustain it for long


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Unread 03/01/2011, 12:07 AM   #49
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my milliepora still show very good polyp extension despite the nipping by the butterflies. as mentioned earlier, you can clearly see there's no damage done to the SPS. these millies get nipped on everyday by the semeion and the mitratus.





the stags have reduced polyp extension but that's ok. they don't usually extend their polyps for me in the day even without nipping anyway. they do so at night.



and this is my favourite piece in the whole tank. an orange frogspawn that i've had for months! but i've noticed that my angels and butterflies do not give two hoots for euphyllia corals.



so just some pics of my corals and how they're doing in the butterfly dominated tank. i wish i could show you a nicer full tank shot but my camera really does not react well with the 12k bulbs


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Unread 03/01/2011, 12:55 PM   #50
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this thread is making me crazy! Peter and Lemon, I should never get mixed up with you two.

That longnose is beyond gorgeous by the way.


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