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Marine   Fishes

Addis Butterflyfish
(Chaetodon semilarvatus)

Addis Butterflyfish

Alternative species (click on the thumbnail to see the card)

Names

Scientific name
Chaetodon semilarvatus

Common name
Addis Butterflyfish
Bluecheek Butterflyfish
Golden Butterflyfish
Redlined Butterflyfish
Yellow Butterflyfish
Masked Butterflyfish
Mask Butterflyfish

Origin

what are its countries of origin?

Origin: Red Sea (Gulf of Aden)
Natural habitat: it lives in coral-rich areas, up to 20m (66 feet) deep

Dimorphism

what are the physical differences between males and females?

None

Group

Group

Chaetodontidae

Volume

what is the minimum volume for this species?

600 L / 132 imp gal / 158 US gal

Parameters

what are the water parameters for the maintenance of this fish?

T°: 23 à 26°C or 73 to 79°F
pH: 7.8 to 8.5
Density: 1021 to 1026

Difficulty

Difficulty

Hard

Size

what is the maximum size of this fish?

from 15 to 20cm (6 to 8")

Longevity

what is the average life expectancy of this fish?

2 to 3 years

Living zone

in which area of the aquarium does this fish live?

Middle

Individuals

sociability of the species

2 (couple)

Food

How to feed the Addis Butterflyfish?

Food

How to feed the Addis Butterflyfish?

This fish is a carnivore that feeds on coral polyps in the wild. Its food is THE big difficulty of its maintenance. Indeed, if it feeds only on polyps, not only your corals will suffer, but often in medium size aquariums, this resource will be insufficient to feed it properly. So it will eventually starve to death.

It is therefore necessary to quickly accustom it to feed differently. In aquariums, you can offer him small live prey such as crustaceans (artemia, krill...). You can supplement by a small vegetable part (with salad for example).

If your fish is young enough, it can accept frozen food, and more rarely dry food.

It is possible to accustom a young fish to feed in your fingers!

Behavior

What kind of behavior does the Addis Butterflyfish have?

Behavior

What kind of behavior does the Addis Butterflyfish have?

An agile and tireless swimmer, he is not afraid. He likes to roam the scenery in search of food.

Cohabitation

Who can live with the Addis Butterflyfish?

Cohabitation

Who can live with the Addis Butterflyfish?

couple of chaetodon semilarvatus

This gregarious fish likes to live with its fellow creatures. The minimum is to associate a male and a female, situation most frequently observed in nature. It is also possible to keep it in a group but unfortunately this is only possible in large aquariums. If you wish to maintain a group, acquire young individuals that you will introduce in your aquarium at the same time. In this case, you will have to count 150 liters / 33 Imp gal / 40 US gal per fish.

For the other species, they get along well with other fish, whose competition they do not fear. You can therefore add fish of similar size or even larger, such as the Acanthurus sohal which naturally shares its space in the Red Sea.

The invertebrates will not be safe in company of the Chaetodon semilarvatus. Indeed, it feeds greedily on them!

It is especially the case of SPS and soft corals which it is particularly fond of. However, they are indispensable for its good maintenance. Without corals, a Chaetodon semilarvatus withers in a few months...

Breeding

How to breed the Addis Butterflyfish?

Breeding

How to breed the Addis Butterflyfish?

Unknown in captivity.

Its aquarium

Which aquarium for the Addis Butterflyfish?

Its aquarium

Which aquarium for the Addis Butterflyfish?

First of all, this beautiful fish really needs a lot of space to feel good. Indeed, it is a very good swimmer who likes to exercise. Thus, the minimum union to propose him is a 600 liters / 132 Imp gal / 158 US gal tank. But the more space he has and the better it is!

For the decoration, choose live stones which will shelter many small animals which the Chétodon will be able to feed on (it will be necessary however that the aquarium is mature enough to make it work), which could facilitate its acclimatization. Make a not too tight tangle that will leave holes and many hiding places, which he will be happy to go through.

The presence of corals is essential, but damage is to be expected given his diet. Therefore, the larger the aquarium is and the richer the corals, the less damage will be important!

Even if this fish is quite robust, it remains sensitive to parasites and bacterial infections. To avoid this, the quality and cleanliness of the water must be irreproachable.

Good To know

Find all additional information!

Good To know

Find all additional information!

This species presents acclimatization difficulties. It must therefore be maintained by aquarists experienced with marine species. Young specimens are easier to acclimatize but beware, the game is not played for all that. Often they do not eat anything for a long time between the time of capture and arrival in the store. This can leave irreversible after-effects. Moreover, if your fish is really very small (under 5 cm / 2"), the welcoming committee and sometimes the strong stirring of the main aquarium can be fatal to it. Therefore, prefer to install it in a smaller aquarium (for example 50/100 liters) but whose maintenance will be optimal (change at least 30 to 50% of the water per day, with that of the main tank). Install it there:
- an immersion heater (monitor temperature variations, more frequent in small volumes),
- a skimmer to ensure good mixing and oxygenation of the water,
- some live rocks.
Try to distribute different foods until the fish eat (beware of water pollution). You can also stop distributing food for 24 hours to give it an appetite for the next distribution. If it really does not want to eat anything after a certain time, put in hard corals but continue to offer it other sources of food. Let them grow a little and acclimatize quietly before introducing them to their final home. After this difficult moment, it is a rather robust fish.

To choose your fish, don't hesitate to observe it for a long time (it must be lively and have a beautiful skin without wounds), to ask the seller for food and to question it about its course (fish, not the seller ;) ).

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

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