The following is a guest contribution from Joe Oliver, a resident Marine Biologist for the Curacao Sea Aquarium and Substation Curacao. The Banks Butterflyfish (Prognathodes aya) and its relative the French or Three-Banded Butterflyfish (Prognathodes guyanensis), are both striking deepwater butterflyfish that…
Survival on the reef part 3: Distractions and decoys
Continuing with our mini series on reef fish survival techniques, we stray away from mimicry and take a look at how some fishes use the art of distraction to fool their predators. Not everyone has the ability to conceal their body…
Time Travel Thursday: Mr Wong’s collection from the film era
In our previous installation with regards to Mr. Wong, we took a look at some of his existing collection of butterflyfish in his home aquarium. Today we’re stepping into a time machine to explore some of Mr. Wong’s fish that he…
Reef Nuggets 2: Aquatic Lepidopterans for your reef (Revised edition)
In our previous episode of Reef Nuggets, we explored our options for peaceful and lesser known damselfish to add a little spark of colour and life to our aquariums. Having vanquished the hateful stereotype that not all damsels are malevolent and…
Chaetodon ocellicauda observed living with its sister species
The butterflyfish of the Chaetodon genus is rife with many closely related species that are differentiated based on geography, and seemingly subtle color differences. While on the Fluval Sea Flores Expedition we had the chance to observe one such pair of species…
Meyer and reticulate butterflyfish hybrid from the Marshall Islands
It’s been a little bit since we’ve dug up a butterflyfish hybrid, so how about a Chaetodon cross that we haven’t seen before? While some hybrid Chaetodon butterflyfish can be hard to place, this little fishy is an obvious cross…
Reef Builders Prediction – Captive Bred Butterflyfish by the end of 2014!
It has been a long time coming, but just as we see aquaculturists banging hard on the door, demanding to be let in on the secrets of captive-bred Tangs, so too we see the captive-breeding barrier being approached from every…
Andrew Sandler’s reef tanks are a cumulative 1,600 gallons of awesome
Andrew Sandler, or his online alias Hedgedrew, is a dedicated and real hardcore reefer with several amazing set ups. A cumulative total of roughly 1,600 gallons comprising numerous set ups, including amongst others a 1,250 gallon SPS tank, a butterfly…
Keeping butterflyfish in reefs: What to look out for and what to avoid
Butterflyfish are the quintessential reef inhabitant. Take a look at any coral reef picture, video, documentary, poster, you name it. There’s a high chance a colourful butterfly is flitting around there somewhere. The same is not to be said in…
Peter Martis’ FOWLR tank is a healthy example of a butterflyfish paradise
We don’t often feature full blown FOWLR tanks but when we do, you know it’s going to be awesome. Peter Martis’ butterflyfish dominated FOWLR tank features a myriad of butterflyfish species in the absolute pink of health. Butterflyfish are almost…
