Melon Butterflyfish Chaetodon Trifasciatus
C$72.99
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Product Details
Care Level: Cycled Tank
Main Diet: Omnivore
Compatibility: Safe
Reef Safe: No
Adult Size: 7"
Suggested Tank Size: 120+
The Melon Butterflyfish (Chaetodon Trifaciatus) is a common fish on the Tanzanian reefs, being the one of the most commonly seen butterflyfish. They are invariably seen in pairs, forming monogamous partnerships.
Juveniles as pictured below can occasionally be seen hiding deep in branching coral formations. They seldom venture out of the reaches of the coral until they have gained a reasonable size. The specimen in the image below is approximately 1.5 cm in length.
The melon butterflyfish is found from 1 meter to 20 meters on reefs. Their range extends from East Africa to Western Java. They grow to approximately 15 Centimeters in size.
It is extremely difficult to keep these fish in an aquarium. In the wild their natural diet consists of coral polyps and they resist switching to other foods. Reportedly some aquarists have had some success persuading juveniles to switch to other foods. However given that they will pick on coral, they will not be everyone’s cup of tea.
The Melon Butterflyfish is a territorial and aggressive butterflyfish and found in the Indo-Pacific Ocean in shallow coral rich reefs. Unfortunately this beautiful butterflyfish does not fare well in captivity due to the difficulty in replicating its natural food supply consisting of coral polyps. We recommend choosing another one of our available butterflyfish unless you are very familiar with this species and can supply it with an adequate feeding source and environment.
To initiate feeding, offer a variety of small frozen foods such as mysis shrimp, enriched brine shrimp and cyclopeeze.
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Melon Butterflyfish Chaetodon Trifasciatus
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