Copperband Butterflyfish
Chelmon rostratus
Copperband Butterflyfish (Chelmon rostratus) is a marine species with an adult-size reference of about 20 cm. It needs at least 400 litres and one individual, with its social and territorial profile taken into account.
Température de l’eau
24 - 28 °C
Valeur du pH
8.1 - 8.4
Type d'eau
Marin
Niveau dans le bac
Tous les niveaux
Taille adulte
20 cm
Volume minimal du bac
>= 400 L
Groupe minimal
>= 1
KH
4 - 6 dKH
Description de l'espèce
Geographical Origin and Habitat: A marine species; the enclosure should provide stability, oxygenation, space and shelter consistent with its behaviour without turning one habitat description into a mandatory recipe.
Taxonomy and Morphology: The accepted scientific name is Chelmon rostratus; the verified classification records genus Chelmon, family Chaetodontidae, order Acanthuriformes. Historical names remain searchable as synonyms rather than separate species.
Social Behavior: Copperband Butterflyfish is normally kept as a single individual and does not require conspecifics. The minimum reference is one individual; sex, maturity and available space can require a more conservative composition. Observe access to food, resting behaviour, chasing and use of shelter. Isolation, persistent competition or aggression means the number, composition or environment needs to be corrected.
Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: Colour and shape can vary with age, sex, physiological state and environmental conditions. Identification and sexing require recognized species-level characters; one appearance or photograph is not enough.
Soins, reproduction et cohabitation
Aquarium Setup: Copperband Butterflyfish needs an aquarium of at least 400 litres, sized for adult body size and a minimum group of one individual. Filtration, shelter and swimming room must match the species and the actual number kept. Volume alone does not make an enclosure suitable: tank shape and length, usable area, oxygenation and the ability to separate territories must reflect adult behaviour.
Diet and Feeding: The recorded diet is omnivorous. Offer appropriately sized foods varied within that category, and adjust quantity and frequency from actual intake, body condition and leftovers. One food or a fixed schedule is not suitable for every age and situation.
Water Quality: Maintain stable, well-oxygenated water appropriate to a marine species; the card's reference values are 24–28 °C, pH 8.1–8.4. Verify conditions with reliable tests and size maintenance and filtration to the actual load. Ranges are not automatic thresholds for treatment or rapid chemical correction.
Compatibility and Cohabitation: The cohabitation profile is a species to combine with caution, with a generally peaceful temperament. Keep at least one individual; tankmates, stocking density and decor must allow escape, rest and feeding without excessive competition. Watch interactions especially during feeding, maturity and breeding. Persistent chasing, injury or exclusion from food requires a change in stocking or layout, or separation of the animals.
Aquarium Breeding: The recorded reproductive profile is “oviparity”. Breeding should be attempted only with healthy adults, separation capacity and a plan for eggs or young. Do not treat unverified triggers, sex ratios or hatch times as universal for this species.
Risks and Diseases: Prevent problems through quarantine of new arrivals, stable water, appropriate feeding and daily observation. Similar signs can have different causes, so check parameters, history and diagnosis before medication. Follow the product label and qualified aquatic-veterinary advice; there is no universal reduced dose for a species or family.
Origine et répartition géographiques
A marine species; the enclosure should provide stability, oxygenation, space and shelter consistent with its behaviour without turning one habitat description into a mandatory recipe.
Origine
Océans tropicaux et récifs
Profil de poisson
- Tempérament
- Peaceful
- Copperband Butterflyfish has a generally peaceful temperament. Insufficient space, an unsuitable social ratio or incompatible tankmates can substantially change observed behaviour.
- Régime alimentaire
- Omnivore
- They use their elongated snouts to extract tiny worms. Frozen mysis shrimp and live blackworms are strongly recommended. Open clams on the half shell encourage reluctant eaters.
- Espérance de vie
- 4-10 years
- Taille adulte
- 20 cm
- Ratio des sexes
- Solitary
- Copperband Butterflyfish is normally kept as a single individual and does not require conspecifics. The reference minimum is one individual and must not be read as permission to overcrowd the aquarium.
- Fréquence d'alimentation
- Twice daily
- They require multiple small feedings every single day. Emaciated specimens are notoriously difficult to rehabilitate successfully. Mature live rock provides essential, constant daily grazing opportunities.
- Charge biologique
- Medium
- The Copperband butterflyfish places a surprisingly light to moderate bioload on the system, primarily due to its highly specialized, pick-and-graze feeding style. Rather than consuming large chunks of protein at once, they spend their days meticulously hunting for tiny tube worms, aiptasia, and small benthic crustaceans. Because they require frequent, small feedings of delicate foods like mysis, the primary bioload concern usually stems from uneaten food decaying in the tank rather than the fish's direct metabolic waste. Excellent protein skimming and mechanical filtration are nonetheless required to maintain the pristine water conditions they demand.
- Courant
- Moderate
- Chelmon rostratus needs steady, moderate circulation distributed across the aquarium rather than a narrow, forceful jet. Minimum 400 liters (105 gallons). Absolute requirement: tons of mature Live Rock of excellent quality, which will provide the microscopic annelids necessary for its survival in the first dramatic months of acclimation. This preserves useful water exchange while retaining calmer shelter for rest and feeding.
- Risque de saut
- No
- Reproduction
- Oviparous
- They are dusk broadcast spawners high in the water column. Captive breeding is currently impossible for home hobbyists. Their complex planktonic larval stage cannot be supported artificially.
- Compatibilité et compagnons
- With caution
- The cohabitation profile is a species to combine with caution, with a generally peaceful temperament. Keep at least one individual; tankmates, stocking density and decor must allow escape, rest and feeding without excessive competition. Watch interactions especially during feeding, maturity and breeding. Persistent chasing, injury or exclusion from food requires a change in stocking or layout, or separation of the animals.
- Niveau dans le bac
- All levels
- The Copperband butterflyfish actively patrols the middle and lower levels of the water column, rarely venturing up to the open surface. Their long, tweezer-like snouts are physically adapted for plunging into deep holes, crevices, and the sandbed to extract hidden prey. Consequently, they spend nearly all their waking hours thoroughly inspecting every inch of the live rock architecture. A tall aquarium is less beneficial to them than a long, expansive footprint that offers miles of rocky surface area to forage upon.
Modèles et paramètres scientifiques
FishBase
Fenêtre sur les données scientifiques officielles de l’espèce
FishBase v25.04Données synchronisées le : 15/06/2026
- Niveau trophique
- 3,5 ± 0,37 se
- Résilience
- Élevée (moins de 15 mois)
- Singularité phylogénétique (PD50)
- 0.625
- Relation bayésienne longueur-poids
- a = 0.01122, b = 3.09
- VulnérabilitéVulnérabilité faible (10 / 100)
Galerie d'images
Images sous licence liées à l'espèce ou, lorsqu'elles sont indiquées, au taxon représentatif le plus proche.
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