Long Nose butterfly.

[Bao]

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if anyone here has a Longnose butterfly? Come to think of it, I don't think I ever see them for sale at any petstore before. If you have them, please let me know where you bought them from. Are they easy to keep compare to Copperband?

Thanks,
Bao

 

[pallobi]

i dont have one now, but i have had them in the past... i also know of quite a few people who keep them in there reef... however, there are 2 different, that look quite similiar, long nose butterflies i believe, and one is not so reef safe i believe... you have to do a little research on that... but compared to the copperband, then are 100 times easier to keep over all... and will normally eat prepared foods very well... great fish imo... GL

i am sure more will chime in... i know RC has a ton of threads about them in a few of the forums there...

 

[Mr.Rodrigo502]

I know some ppl that do, and keep them in a reef aquarium....mainly to control aiptasia ....but i dont know if they are reef safe.......

 

[pallobi]

if they are fed PROPERLY, yes, they are basically reef safe... of course, there is always an exception or two to every "rule"... however, alot of people dont feed their fish properly... once every other day or every third day, is not "properly"... jus sayin

 

[Mr.Rodrigo502]

Try to feed yourself once every three days....let me know how it feels...... +1 on pallobi's reply

 

[Bao]

There are two version of these longnose butterfly.
Yellow Longnose (Forcipiger flavissimus) and its bigger cousin, the Big Longnose (Forcipiger longirostris). The flavissimus is the one with the shorter nose and a much more common. The Bigger one is less common. So I think the one that are being sold at the petstore are most likely to be the flavissimus, the smaller one. Ever since seeing them in a video, I really want to keep one. I saw many threads in ReefCentral about them and I believe they are common, not very rare. But the sad thing is that I have never seen them in any petstore before.. I see plenty of Copperband, another favorite fish.

 

[pallobi]

one will pop up, but you need to be patient, dont buy one if it doesnt look 100% and is eating... your best bet is do get one from live aquaria their divers den wyswyg... a bit more pricey, and shipping, but they guarantee and their reputation is second to none... thats what i would do, and that is what i am gonna do when i get my potters angel pair, and my achilles tang once i setup my 180...

 

[frank180reef]

you always want to make sure the fish is eating before you buy it, if it doesnt eat in the stores tank it likely wont eat in yours

fwiw I used to go to Tropic isle and they have nice long noses, this was a while back though

 

[RadReefer]

I've done a lot of reading on butterflies because I also have always wanted a longnose. Getting one that eats is key. I read that Butterflies often have flukes, you should always QT them with prazipro, I think they are also more sensative to copper as well.

 

[pallobi]

I've done a lot of reading on butterflies because I also have always wanted a longnose. Getting one that eats is key. I read that Butterflies often have flukes, you should always QT them with prazipro, I think they are also more sensative to copper as well.

+1