Double Saddled Butterflies

[live4spd]

A LFS of mine has ordered a pair of Double Saddled Butterflies for me. I read in Fenner's book, that they are an excellent species and do well in pairs.

I'm just curious to know if anyone has experience with this fish, regarding special eating habits, behavior etc.

Chaetodon ulietensis is the scientific name.

The pair will going into my 130G FOWLR.

Thanks!

Ryan

[live4spd]

anyone??

[JohnL]

Ryan, I'm hoping you get a better response in this forum.

[hcs3]

Chaetodon ulietensis

you picked a good aquarium species. though i have never kept this one, i have kept it's similar looking C. falcula it is fairly hardy in captivity, much more so than most butterflies. however, it is still a butterfly so insure that water parameters are in order.

with a maximum size of roughly 6", they should fare well in your 130g. also, getting 2 from the start is a good idea. they will swim together. good thing it's a FO, as they are known to make quick work of reef tanks. keep the other tankmates to more docile species, as these butterflies do best if they are the dominate species. also, you've got 2 open water swimmers, so it's advisable not to add a 3rd, else they spend all day bumping into each other.

if you get juveniles, feeding should be no problem. you should be feeding them a mixture of foods; both meat and vegetable fare.

watch for gill flukes. though not immediately deadly, they can wear on the immune system and wear down the fish. flukes are regularly encountered on butterflies. they can/do spread to every member in the tank if left unchecked. gill flukes will cause an abnormal head shake of the fish. much like humans that get knocked senseless. though i hate doing FW dips myself, it is an extremely effective remedy for gill flukes.

HTH and LMK if you have specific questions.

henry

[live4spd]

Excellent reply thank you very much!!! I do plan on getting two for sure, I'm hoping I can pick them up on tuesday or so. Look forward to having them, they are beautiful fish.

Thanks for the advice.

Ryan