The Copperband Butterfly is one of the most exotic yet inexpensive fishes, and is considered as a much sought-after fish amongst aquarists in the United States. It actively eats aiptasia. It requires a minimum 40 Gallon tank in which it can spend most of its time inspecting every nook and cranny with its elongated mouth. The Copperband Butterfly might nip large polyps stony corals or clam mantles, and also feeds on feather dusters, and small worms, therefore the copperband butterfly fish is not really considered as reef safe. Due to the petite size of its mouth, the Copperband Butterfly can grab only small particles. It should be fed with a variety of other foods that include Mysis shrimp, raw shrimp, live brine shrimp, and frozen brine shrimp, which serves as a very healthy source of nutrition to the Copperband Butterfly. It is not an aggressive feeder at first, and thus should not be housed with aggressive tank mates. They are susceptible to typical saltwater fish diseases and you need to take proper precautions by using a quarantine tank before introducing them into your main tank. It is very difficult to distinguish male from female Copperband Butterfly and also makes it hard to breed in captivity. It thrives well in a temperature range of 75-82 degree Fahrenheit, with 8.1-8.4 pH, and can live up to 4 years or longer.

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The Copperband Butterfly is one of the few Butterflies that is commonly distributed for the home aquarium. These exquisite fish are silvery-white in color with orange vertical bands, as well as a "false eye" at the rear of their dorsal. The Copperband has an elongated mouth which it uses to pick at coral heads, including nuisance Aiptasia. These fish will accept many fish foods, but require excellent water quality. The Copperband is very docile and gets along well with other community fish. These fish will also eat nuisance glass anemones (Aiptasia). It is best to only keep one per tank.The family of Butterflyfish get their name from their behavior of fluttering around the reef. These fish typically have rather round and thin bodies. They are very colorful and some have extended snouts which they use to reach worms entrenched in the reef.Photo by Saltwaterfish.com member, mx#28

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