Redtail Butterflyfish: A Complete Care Guide
- Mar 06, 2022
- Anshika Mishra
- 405 0 0
In this article, you will be learning all about the Pakistani Butterflyfish, also known as the red-Tailed Butterflyfish. It can be a very shy Butterflyfish, but they can go out swimming out and about in the open once they are comfortable.
Prices: You will usually see a juvenile running about $75, and for an adult, you will have to spend a hundred dollars or more to get one. So, they are a much higher-priced Butterflyfish to have in your tank.
Tank Size: Usually, they will need to be kept in a 120-gallon tank by the end of their lifespan. They will get pretty large for a Butterflyfish. So, you want to have plenty of room for him to swim around in.
Care Level: Moderate. The main reason is the trouble in feeding them. Therefore, we recommend you get Juveniles if you are looking to get one as this way, you can get them to eat what you feed them. But, if you decide to get the adult fish, ask the fish store about their eating habits before.
Temperament: It is a peaceful fish and can even be shy. They stay towards the back most of the time. However, once they get situated in the tank, they will come and swim in the open all the time.
Reef Safe: Not! They are bad about picking at corals, especially stony corals, polyps, and clams, which are a big thing in their diet in the wild. So, you can be. They will go around and pick at those. If they are in your tank, try to add them in fish-only with a live rock tank.
Water Parameter
Temperature: 72-78
dKH:8-12
pH: 8.1-8.4
Salinity: 1.020-1.025
All this is basic and will keep them good and happy
Appearance
Max Size: They can get about 8-inches by the end of their lifespan. That is a very larger Butterlyfish to have in your tank. Therefore, the bigger the tank, the better.
Coloration: It is a very pretty fish with a chocolate-brown color that fades into a very bright orange on the edge of their fins which is why many people like them because they have the Achilles Tang orange on the back of their fins.
Diet
They are a carnivore and sometimes an omnivore. Some will pick up algae, but you have to feed them meaty food. So, frozen cubes are a really good one to get, and brine shrimp is another great option.
Also, if you already have some algae or sponge growing in the tank, this fish can munch it off.
Compatibility
They can be paired if introduced at the same time. Otherwise, it is not recommended to putting an additional one later. However, you have to treat them like Tangs, as they tend to do best if they are mixed in the tank simultaneously. So, if you have a large enough tank that you want to home two different kinds of Butterflyfish, you'd want to put them in as closely as possible into the tank, as they might get territorial over the tank.
Putting them in a predator tank will make the fish scared and shy. Most of the time, it will hide behind the rocks and would not come out. But, if you put them in with some peaceful fish-only tank, they will be very happy.
Tank Structure
You want to construct an open-rock structure with big caves and a lot of free space where they can swim freely, and it is how they can swim in the wild. So, make sure they are not added in a stack to the top of the live rock tank because you will not enjoy them lost in the tank most of the day.
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