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Buttercup

Butterflyfish · Shared by FrostyOtter · 6 days ago

All 3 Butterflyfish photos →

Buttercup patrols the edge of the reef and considers every bit of it hers to inspect.

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About the Butterflyfish

Origin
Coral reefs worldwide, mostly Indo-Pacific
Adult size
12–20 cm depending on species
Lifespan
5–10 years
Minimum tank
300+ litres for the hardier species
Diet
Species-dependent — many eat only live coral and cannot be fed
Reef safe
No — most will pick at corals and invertebrates

Read more about the butterflyfish — what they are like to live with, grooming, and the health worth knowing about.

More fish

Newest first.

Winston VII, a butterflyfish

Butterflyfish

Winston VII is filing the parcels with one in his mouth. The heap of yellow behind him is a separate matter.

FrostyOtter · 1 week ago

Winston VII, a butterflyfish

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Winston VII being extremely helpful, as ever.

SunnyHeron · 2 weeks ago

Apricot, a goldfish

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Apricot drifts past the front of the tank twice a minute, checking on me.

FrostyOtter · 5 days ago

Kintaro, a koi

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Kintaro and the others come up the instant a shadow crosses the water, in case it is food.

FrostyOtter · 5 days ago

Marlin, a blue tang

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Marlin does one slow circuit of the reef and arrives back exactly where he started.

FrostyOtter · 6 days ago

Fisher, a boesemani rainbowfish

Boesemani rainbowfish

Fisher changes colour depending on the light and takes full personal credit for it.

FrostyOtter · 6 days ago

Inky, a black moor

Black moor

Inky drifts along the bottom looking permanently astonished by his own bubbles.

FrostyOtter · 6 days ago

Sovereign, a arowana

Arowana

Sovereign patrols the top inch of the water and treats the rest of the tank as somebody else's problem.

FrostyOtter · 6 days ago

All fish