Reef Safe Butterfly fish

[Beckmola24]

Which butterflies are reef safe (or relatively so)? I like butterflies quite a bit

Thanks in advance for any input.

[anydarnthing]

Mitratus, Declivas, Pyramid, and Tinkerii are considered "reef-safe".

[Beckmola24]

don't Declivas primarily eat coral polyps? If those are "reef safe" wich ones are the "with caution" type that can be put in a reef most of the time? I really like the Marginalis Butterflies.

[anydarnthing]

Declivas are from deeper water then most corals live in, I think they get them from around 200ft. The Marginalis will eat tubeworms and such but may get a taste for zoo's. But you might get lucky I have a Saddleback butterfly in a tank with xenia, mushrooms, and leather corals with no problems.

[Kennyboy1984]

I've seen lots of Copperband butterflies in reef tanks.

[rmougey]

CopperBanded (rostratus), Marginalis and Long Nosed (forcipiger) all do well in reefs. They generally don't bother the corals you purchase, but will enjoy small inverts such as tube worms.

The Raops family of butterflies are all deep water and include the declivus, tinkerii, burgess, flavocoronatus and mitratus. These butterflys may be reef safe, but there is nothing to prevent them from developing a taste for one of your prized corals. The premise that they are deep water and therefore wont eat your corals is possible, but not guaranteed.

I had a declivus several years ago in my reef.... he completely denuded the tank of all polyps and zoas. But to me, he was worth it!

-Rob

[SpaceAce]

Long Nose Butterflys, Tinkerii and Pyramids are safe bets... if youre the betting type

[Beckmola24]

Phishy Business has a Declivus pair for 549 bucks. Nice butterfly

[hgbarwick]

I had a copperband and all they eat is feather dusters.

[atzak]

could a longnose be trusted with zo's

[hgbarwick]

I think so

[Amphiprion]

All of the aforementioned butterflies specifically target benthic invertebrates, including corals (save one). The two "safest" species (keeping in mind that none are truly 'safe') are Heniochus diphreutes (the real thing), and Hemitaurichthys polylepis. Chaetodon tinkeri actually prefers hard corals, BTW. C. flavocoronatus and C. declivis may be reef safe, but there is less certainty in that than the above two species.

[bjolly]

my longnose never bothered any corals, including zo's.

[3.99AfterTaxes]

I'm going to put my vote in for the Pyramid Butterfly (Hemitauricthys polyepis). Defintely reef safe, no risks involved; I've had four on different occassions in different types of reef tanks. Looks sharp to boot.

[Beckmola24]

Are the Declivas always over 500 bucks? They're really sweet looking butterflies

[snorvich]

Well mitratus are NOT reef safe for some LPS corals. Been there, done that, removed him/her.