The copperband butterflyfish (''Chelmon rostratus''), also known as the beaked coral fish, is found in

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock o ...

s in both the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

and

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

s. This

butterflyfish The butterflyfish are a group of conspicuous tropical marine fish of the family Chaetodontidae; the bannerfish and coralfish are also included in this group. The approximately 129 species in 12 genera are found mostly on the reefs of the Atla ...

is one of the three species that make up the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

Chelmon ''Chelmon'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish in the family Chaetodontidae, the butterflyfishes. They are tropical species native to the western Pacific Ocean. Species There are currently three recognized species in this genus: * '' Chelmon ...

'' and all have long beaks.

Description

These fish are easily identified by the yellow banding and long snout. The young fish are similar in appearance to adult fish. Butterflyfish grow up to 20 cm in length. The fish appears taller than its length because of its compressed, deep-bodied form with a long dorsal and posterior fins as well as its vertical yellow stripes on a white background. The snout is long and slender, and the dark eye of the fish is less conspicuous than the dark eye-spot on the dorsal fin. The base of the tail features a dark band that runs perpendicular to the tail. Butterflyfish may be distinguished from the similar '' C. marginalis'' by their color pattern and number of dorsal fin rays.

Habitat

Copperband butterflyfish are found at depths of 1−25 metres either alone or in pairs. These fish form monogamous pairs during breeding. They are usually found on

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. C ...

s or rocky shorelines, and also in estuaries and silty inner reefs. This species is territorial and oviparous.

In the aquarium

Copperband butterflyfish can grow to 8 inches (20 cm) but in a home aquarium are usually half that size. They do well at a normal reef temperature range of 75 to 84 °F (24 to 29 °C), with a tank size of at least 75 gallons and plenty of live rock to graze on. This species can be considered reef safe. It will eat many

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s, including

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...

forms such as tubeworms, '' Calliactis parasitica'' and common glass anemone ('' Aiptasia'', parasitic

anemone ''Anemone'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Plants of the genus are commonly called windflowers. They are native to the temperate and subtropical regions of all continents except Australia, New Zealand an ...

). Many aquarists introduce the Copperband Butterfly just to get rid of these pests without giving consideration to their long term needs for survival.Tristan Lougher (2006). What Fish?: A Buyer's Guide to Marine Fish. Interpet Publishing. . Given a choice, '' Aiptasia'' is the least favored food. The butterflyfish preys on all tube and substrate worms, clams, and mollusks. This is not a recommended fish for inexperienced aquarists, as it requires excellent tank conditions to thrive or even survive.

References

External links

* * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q73897 copperband butterflyfish Marine fish of Northern Australia Marine fish of Eastern Australia Fauna of Queensland Marine fish of Southeast Asia copperband butterflyfish Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus