Longnose butterfly feeding

romeo0119 · 09-01-2006, 06:51 PM

Anyone here have a longnose butterfly? What do you feed them? Froozen food or live? If froozen, what is the best one for them? Thanks for the input

coral reefer · 09-01-2006, 08:00 PM

They are nice fish, however being that I have REEF tank, Butterfly fish are a no no for that type of tank with corals and polyps!!!
They require different food stuffs including brine shrimp, formula foods and spirulina/algae food. Just make sure to vary the diet for them. Being that they have a long snout/mouth, they will forage for small food stuff in the rock work crevices and crannies...
One of my favorites is the Raccoon Butterfly fish which is also one of the more hardy Butterfly fish.

romeo0119 · 09-01-2006, 09:12 PM

So what is your method of feeding? I tried feeding him algae flake but he wont even come up to eat, he been in and out of the rock

coral reefer · 09-02-2006, 05:21 AM

I wouldn't go the route of using flake food til it gets established and eating regularly. Try enticing your Butterfly with live brine shrimp, even adding garlic to your water or as a food soak.
As for getting your fish to eat at the top of the paleagic area of your tank(surface of your water column), I wouldn't try to get them to do that, especially since it isn't a natural instinct for them. You have to take into consideration their natural environment in the reefs. You don't see too many fish eating of the waters surface, like a Trout or Salmon would. They prefer to pick for food in the crevices of the live rock for small plankton foods and inverts. Eventually you might be able to train them to come to the surface to feed, and may actually eat out of your hand as my Yellow tang does.
At any rate take your time, try one thing and if to no avail, try something else.
If you have alot of live rock in your tank though you can pretty much be assurred that it is getting some nutrients.
Hope this helps ya!

RAVEN · 09-02-2006, 11:19 PM

What was it eating in the store? Try feeding mysis and brine shrimp at first, you could also try soaking in garlic or Entice. I used this method to get my Copperbanded BF and Moorish Idol to start eating. Stay away from dry foods till its eating frozen foods. You might also want to try placing a cube of frozen formula food or something similar in a crevice in a rock as they like to pick food with their long noses. I always make sure a fish is eating in the store and purchase whatever the fish has been eating. Good Luck.