Butterflyfish In your Reef Tank
- Aug 19, 2022
- Anshika Mishra
- 289 0 0
If you have kept Butterflyfish in your tank, they'll probably get noticed the most. The first reason behind this is that they are pretty, but the second and more significant reason is that they are Butterflyfish.
What's the big deal about Butterfly in a Reef Tank?
Most Butterflies aren't great inhabitants in reef tanks. Instead, most find coral and clams simply irresistible.
Thye is known for destroying or nipping at corals enough that the polyps are always retracted, which usually ends in coral death.
This fact is sad, as there are beautiful Butterflyfishes in the reefing hobby.
If you tell a reefer that you are putting a Butterflyfish in the reef tank, most will respond with a look of horror and tell you to kiss your coral goodbye.
Yellow Pyramid Butterfly
But, while many Butterflies do not do well in reef tanks, the Butterfly that is the best match for a ref is a Yellow Pyramid Butterfly.
These fishes come from Indonesia, Fiji, and Australia. And that placed dozens of tanks.
With a dark brown face, yellow body, and yellow fins, the Yellow Pyramid Butterfly is a striking fish for your reef. They sell them lipid corals and prefer to take plankton out of the water column. Even pure mental and fleshy LPS corals are safer around the Yellow Pyramid Butterflies.
The Yellow Pyramid Butterfly can get quite large, over six inches; most specimens come in smaller than that.
A tank of at least 150 gallons in size is best for these Butterflies. They can be kept singly, in pairs, or even in trio.
They are friendly to other Butterflyfishes and won't bother any other fish in your tank either. But, while they won't eat your corals, they will devour any food you put on your reef.
Every fish that goes in your tank needs to be quarantined. Pyramid Butterflyfishes are accessible to quarantine; they take food very quickly, and treating them with copper is not a problem.
So, between their good looks, great temperament, ease of keeping, and quarantining, these fishes are the stand-down Butterflyfishes for your reef.
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