Redfin Butterflyfish

Geographical Origin and Habitat: Tropical Indo-Pacific, widely distributed from East Africa to the Hawaiian Islands. Inhabits shallow lagoons and seaward reefs rich in Acropora and Pocillopora corals.

Taxonomy and Morphology: Member of the family Chaetodontidae. Closely related to the Pacific species Chaetodon lunulatus, which replaces it in the eastern parts of the Pacific.

Social Behavior: Peaceful and highly social. Almost always seen in pairs. Spends daylight hours searching coral branches for polyps, requiring a quiet tank setup.

Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: Bright orange-yellow overall body color with thin horizontal blue stripes. Features three dark vertical bars on the head and a bright red anal fin.

Aquarium Setup: Requires a large, well-established reef-style aquarium of at least 300 liters with plenty of high-quality live rock and open swimming areas.

Diet and Feeding: Obligate corallivore, feeding exclusively on hard coral polyps. Very difficult to maintain long-term in home aquariums without offering live corals as food.

Water Quality: Demands pristine marine conditions: temperature 22-27 °C, pH 8.1-8.4, salinity 1.020-1.025 with zero organic waste, strong skimming, and high water flow.

Compatibility and Cohabitation: Highly peaceful. Not reef safe as it consumes hard corals. Best housed in large fish-only systems with non-aggressive, quiet tankmates.

Aquarium Breeding: Reproduction in home aquariums is undocumented. Spawns pelagic eggs, and larvae spend weeks drifting in open ocean currents before settling.

Risks and Diseases: Very high risk of starvation in captivity. Recommended only for public aquaria or expert hobbyists capable of providing live corals for food.