FAQs on Longnose, Genus Forcipiger
Butterflyfish Foods/Feeding/Nutrition
Related Articles: Longnose Butterflyfishes,
Related FAQs: Longnose Butterflyfishes in General, Forcipiger Identification, Forcipiger Behavior, Forcipiger Compatibility, Forcipiger Selection, Forcipiger Systems, Forcipiger Disease, Forcipiger Reproduction, Chaetodonts:
Butterflyfish Identification, Butterflyfish
Foods/Feeding/Nutrition, Butterflyfish Compatibility, Butterflyfish Behavior, Butterflyfish Systems, Butterflyfish Selection, Butterflyfish
Disease,
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Butterflyfishes for Marine Aquariums
Diversity, Selection & Care
New eBook on Amazon: Available
here
New Print Book on Create Space: Available
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by Robert (Bob) Fenner |
Hawaiian Forcipiger longirostris Collected / Not eating
11/26/18
I recently collected a YLN Butterflyfish.
<Hey Sky! Thought Forcipigers... oh, I see your comment below>
Yes, the Long, Long Nosed. No easy feat with he aquarium ban here in
Hawaii, free diving and free-netting, on a single breath, approx 2 min
breath holds. It took me a couple hours but I finally got one. I treated
him as gently as possible and he has been in my tank for about three
weeks now. Originally he was getting picked on by a Yellow Tang in my
outdoor sump, so I transferred him to my display, where he’s been for
about a week. Still he hasn’t eaten. I’ve afforded all the usual
suspects and everything suggested here, like Mysis shrimp and my own
food pasted onto a rock. He also hasn’t touched my Aiptasia, one of the
reasons I got him.
<A Raccoon BF would be much better for eating Glass Anemones>
I haven’t however offered anything live because I don’t know where I can
get any live shrimp her on Hilo side of the Big Island. I did begin
hatching some Brine shrimp out of desperation. They are still too small
to feed. The only thing I can think is the very small, almost
unnoticeable tuft (possibly fungal) on the top end of his snout.
Otherwise he seems perfectly healthy. If he doesn't eat soon I feel I
should take him back. ;-(
<Good>
Any hail Mary ideas?
<Mmm, three weeks.... I'd return the fish, look for a Raccoon>
Oh Aquarium parameters are near perfect ;-) MAHALOZ!
In Gratitude,
Sky
<A hu'i hou mate. Bob Fenner>
Re: Hawaiian Forcipiger longirostris Collected / Not eating
11/28/18
Okay, I’ll prob take him back.
<I've done this; in Hawaii and elsewhere, a few times... whole wholesale
set ups where the livestock wasn't fit to sell; better to return it to
the sea>
I guess some YLN Butterflies, if too big when captured just don’t start
eating?
<Yes; this is so. BFs in particular get bumped on their mouths easily...
and olde ones are set in their ways>
Perhaps I shall try again with a smaller specimen and have better luck.
I had a couple Raccoons but worried about them eating my corals and
Shrooms a friend gave me frags of.
<Mmm; maybe another smaller Forcipiger of either species; but am a big
fan of the two species of raccoons for the job.>
In Gratitude,
Sky Kubby
<Cheers Sky, BobF>
New Forcipiger not eating Hi Bob, I was just wondering , I have just
bought a yellow long nose butterfly and he just doesn't want to eat . I have
tried every thing except frozen foods . I have heard that I can feed them clams
but I am just not sure of what to do , please help. PS: I was also thinking of
what an "undulated triggerfish" would might eat. He is about 3 inches long and a
green color. Thank you, Adam P. >> Concerning the Longnose Butterflyfish
(Forcipiger spp.), not to worry too much. As you state, you've just gotten the
specimen. Have patience. Though these two species seem delicate, they're not.
And as long as the individuals mouth is not damaged, it should start eating
within a few days. Most all types of foods will do... Having some live rock
around for it to nibble on is great. The Trigger will eat most everything...
including other, more docile tankmates... Think hard and long before getting one
of these. It may well attack the Longnose when it gets bigger. Bob Fenner
Weaning Longnose Butterfly Hello, <Hello!> I recently
purchased a Longnose Butterfly and put him in a 15 gal. QT tank with
about 15 lbs of live rock. It will eventually be moved to my
75 gal. with about 100 lbs of rock. It was being fed live
brine shrimp at the LFS, <Fish love it...Aquarists hate it! Little
to no nutritional value even when enhanced with vitamins> but I want
to feed more nutritional foods such as frozen clams, enriched brine,
etc. <Skip the brine completely> So far the longnose
has ignored all of my offerings, but it has been picking things off of
the live rock. I worry that the little rock in the QT tank
will not sustain him for long. Do you have any suggestions
for weaning him onto the frozen foods? <Try some Mysis
shrimp. This worked perfectly with my butterfly. Also try a fresh open
clam or oyster. Take a look at the fish's snout...see how small it
is? Food must be able to fit in this little mouth. Be sure to feed
small pieces> How long can he go without eating before it becomes
critical? <Depending when he was last fed, two to
several weeks at least... if there is ample LR in the tank> I have
seen him mouth the frozen clams, but apparently not eat. He
appears very healthy - robust body, with clear skin and fins. Perhaps I
should move him to the 75 with more rock? <You don't say how
long you've had the fish. If it's only been a few days, I
wouldn't worry. Keep trying different things> Thanks for your
advice, <The pleasure is mine. Try lots of different small food
items. He's been spoiled with those silly brine shrimp. David
Dowless> John.H
Weaning Longnose Butterfly: Mysis shrimp worked! Thanks for
your response. <You're more than welcome!>
I'm happy to report that my Longnose Butterfly has taken a liking
to Mysis shrimp. <Yippee! I'm glad to see that I was
able to help!> First he tried just one, then about 10 at the next
feeding! <Give it a few days and try some other meaty things. Just
remember, a small mouth can only eat small pieces of food> Thanks
again, <You're welcome! Take care! David Dowless> John.H
Bulimic Butterfly? >Hi Crew,
>>Hello Greg. >I hope you had a wonderful
Thanksgiving. >>Around here, there are many
things that make me wonder.. so yes, it was indeed
"wonder-ful". ;) >Amongst many other
things, I am certainly thankful for the wonderful service you
provide at WetWebMedia! >>You're welcome. >My question
of the day is about my Longnose Butterfly. It seems to
be wasting away. >>Indeed, by the pics it
doesn't look entirely healthy (from what I can see, anyway).
>Although it did eat a bit during the first few days in my QT,
it then developed what appeared to be
Cryptocaryon. After receiving a freshwater dip, it
developed a severe case of fin and tail rot. I have been
treating with CopperSafe and, beginning six days ago, I began
treating with Maracyn 2. The ich and find rot both
appear to be well under control now but, prior to beginning
antibiotic treatment, I no longer noticed this fish
eating. I can now see the fish's ribs and, although
this is my first butterfly fish, it appears to be emaciated to
me. I though I had lost the fish after the freshwater
dip since its eyes had clouded and appeared to have a large bubble
in each pupil. It had also lost all sense of direction
and coordination. >>This behavior is often seen
during freshwater dips. >It would float listlessly on its side,
sometimes turning upside down. This fish's strength,
balance and overall appearance have since recovered remarkably
well. It is now an aggressive swimmer with clear eyes
and it is regrowing its fins. >>That's good
to see, they do appear raggedy, now I know they're on the mend.
>On the downside, I am beginning to see red through its gill
covers as it gets thinner daily. >>I noticed that
immediately. >I have attached two pictures, trying to show this
redness of the gill covers but the pictures do not capture this
appearance well. >>They seem to have captured that bit fairly
well, but I seem to see what appears to be whitish areas over the
eyes. Eyes, clear, fins, appear to be clear (and on the
mend), mouth appears undamaged. >Please give me you opinion of
the fish's appearance in the photos and provide any suggestions
for getting this fish to eat again. I have tried Formula
1, flake food, Spectrum Thera A+, brine shrimp, zooplankton, Nori
and now a fresh clam. Although the fish points its nose
at the food as if there might be some initial interest, I have not
noticed it taking a bite of any food and it does continue to appear
extremely thin. >>I strongly suggest bloodworms and live
mysids (if you can get them). Other than that, water
changes to keep quality up, watch for white(ish), stringy feces
(sign of internal bacterial infection). If you can find
a source of fresh micro-crustaceans (think "pods", those
that you would find crawling all over live rock and the like),
these might entice the fish to start eating as well. See
here for typical wild diet:
http://www.fishbase.org/TrophicEco/DietCompoSummary.cfm?autoctr=2202&GenusName=Forcipiger&SpeciesName=flavissimus
(Which is why I think bloodworms may entice him. Also,
observed most butterflies being fed b-worms at
LBAOP.) Another, more grim, consideration, concerns
where and how the butterfly was collected. It is
well-known that certain regions have a tendency to offer fish
collected and/or exposed to cyanide. If this is the case
with this fish, the gut lining will have been destroyed, thus
making absorption of nutrients impossible, even if the fish were
eating. Let's keep our fingers crossed, as
Forcipiger flavissimus is found in a huge area around the Pacific.
>Water parameters: Salinity: 1.0235 S.G., Temp = 78 Degrees F,
Ammonia = 0, Nitrite = 0, Nitrate = 15 PPM, Cu++ = 2.0 PPM, 20%
water changes every 3-4 days. >>Unless the fish is showing
signs of virulent C. irritans infection, I would stop the copper
treatments, hyposalinity should be sufficient at this point (I saw
no latent/obvious signs of ich in pics). Your water
quality is good, but hyposalinity is in the range of
1.007-1.010-you would likely need a refractometer to measure this
low range. If the Maracyn II doesn't give you the
desired results after a week to ten days, then consider changing
over to Spectrogram. >Thank you for the help! --Greg
>>You're welcome, I do hope this is
helpful. Marina |
Bulimic Butterfly >Thank you for the help
Marina. >>You're welcome. >I bought some Mysid
shrimp today and tried to get the Forcipiger longirostris to eat
these. >>Are you sure it's F.
longirostris? By your pics (as I recollect), I was fairly
certain you have F. flavissimus.. in any event... >Although all the
other tank mates loved the mysids, the butterfly still did not
eat. Each day, this fish's fins continue to improve
dramatically but it's gills continue to redden and it continues to
grow thinner from this hunger strike. I do have dried
bloodworms I occasionally use to feed my freshwater
fish. Would these work to feed the butterfly?
>>I honestly don't think they'll stimulate him the way
live would. >I assume the bloodworms you recommended are either
frozen or live. >>Live. >Regarding hyposalinity, you
recommended removing the copper if there are currently no signs of
virulent C. irritans. There are no apparent white specks on
any of the fishes now (after 1 week of freshwater dips and Cu
treatment) but, due to the lifecycle of Cryptocaryon, I thought it is
necessary to maintain Cu in the system for a minimum of two weeks
(preferably four weeks) to eradicate the Cryptocaryon theronts as they
become free-swimming. >>This is indeed normal
protocol. But I wasn't positive of timing. >Are you
saying hyposalinity will serve this purpose instead of using copper
treatments? >>Hyposalinity is often the first choice for many
hobbyists, instead of copper or formalin treatments. That is
not to say that ich cannot withstand it, you'll be MUCH more
certain of eradicating it with copper than with
hypo. However, if you ascertain that it may be the copper
that's causing this butterfly distress, then you might consider
using the hypo instead of copper. One reason I say this is
from my observations in the quarantine and treatment area I worked in
at the Long Beach Aquarium--they NEVER used copper on their
butterflies, though they regularly coppered their tangs and
Pufferfishes. They preferred to use formalin on the
butterflies, and I never observed hyposalinity being used (though, in
my opinion, it is quite useful). This is also where I
observed the butterflies being fed the bloodworms. >If this is the
case, at what rate to I need to drop the salinity to
1.007-1.010? >>It should be done over two to three
days. >I assume this would need to be a very gradual change to
prevent further stress. >>Yes. >How long should
the tank remain at 1.007-1.010 S.G.? >>A 4 week
regimen is perfectly acceptable, permanent status is not. >Based
upon the apparent stress I have noticed from fish while giving them a
freshwater bath, I assume this minimal level of salinity would be
stressful to the fish as well. >>Not as stressful for
most marine fishes as you might think. Notable exceptions
would be Mandarin gobies. >I assume, when moving the fish to the
main tank, I would need to increase the salinity at the same rate it
was reduced -- correct? >>Quite correct. >I also
have several other fishes in this 55 gal QT as well (3 ocellaris
clowns, porcupine puffer, powder blue tang, purple tang, flame angel,
lawnmower blenny). >>Holy cow! I must say,
you seem to be planning on introducing QUITE a few fish into the main
at the same time, I don't know that I could recommend
that. Have you established your nitrifiers
fishless? And are you certain that you have sufficient
colonies? And last, but not least, I'm hoping that these
animals are going into something the size of, say, 180 gallons, or
larger. >Are any of these fish more sensitive to hyposalinity than
the butterfly? >>None are more sensitive (the flame is actually
listed in fishbase.org as a brackish fish!), but the puffer would be
more sensitive to copper. >Thank you again for all the terrific
advice! --Greg >>You're quite welcome. Marina
Bulimic Butterfly, III >Hi Marina, >>Hello Greg.
>Just to answer your questions and update you on my GOOD NEWS... My
Longnose Butterfly is now eating very well!!! >>Ah,
excellent! >Interestingly, it appears to prefer my home-made fish
food to the mysids (possibly because the home-made food is easier to
fit into its tiny mouth). >>Actually, I heard it
through the grapevine that you're a VERY good
cook. How's your quiche? >As it turns out, I think
high ammonia levels were causing the problems. >>Oh?
>Although my ammonia tests read 0 PPM, I was concerned by the slight
cloudiness of the water so I bought another test kit. This
test measured 2.0 PPM! >>HOLY
VERYBADWORDFORPOO!!! Sweet Christ on a crutch, man.. what
was the first test kit so we can tell others to watch
out? And what kit did you buy? >I performed a 50% water
change and added Amquel at double strength for the remaining 25 gallons
of water. Two hours later the butterfly was back to eating.
>>Oh my gawd, that's amazing how fast the poor fish
recovered, and thank GOODNESS you thought to check with another kit.
>I feel terrible for putting these fish through such conditions but
at least now I have an accurate test kit. >>Yes, now
a spanking is in order. }:-D >Unfortunately, now my
Powder Blue Tang has stopped eating for the past three days (since
giving it a freshwater bath). >>Oi, now this fish, this is
expected. They're quite picky, as well as rather
delicate, given to attacks of "the vapors". Nori,
anyone? This is one instance where I will suggest garlic,
many, many folks believe that it works well as an appetite
stimulant. Even if it's not, I don't believe it will
hurt to give it a try. Of course, a few days to recover from
that high ammonia (not so surprising in such a small q/t) may be all
that's needed for him. >Regarding the exact type of longnose
butterfly, mine is a solid bright yellow on the entire body except for
the face, which is black on the top 1/2 and silver on the bottom
1/2. According to the captions at fishbase.org, this is
listed as F. longirostris, whereas F. flavissimus' body was silver
with orange stripes. >>I have never seen F.
flavissimus silver with orange stripes, Greg. The reason
these fish are often so easily confused is that the only significant,
easily observable difference is the length of the snout. I
feel that yours is clearly F. flavissimus. Here are the two
links from fishbase, open up each in their own window then click back
and forth between them and you'll see, they're IDENTICAL except
for that (body structure is slightly different between them as well,
with F. flavissimus being someone less oblong).
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=5585&genusname=Forcipiger&speciesname=longirostris
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=5584&genusname=Forcipiger&speciesname=flavissimus
Of course, if you REALLY want to nail this down, count the dorsal
rays. <insert another evil grin here> Other
shots I have in my own library of these fish show ONLY the length of
the snout being different. >Maybe I misinterpreted the pictures...
>>Hhhmm.. I'm not sure what pictures you saw, as you'll
see by the links. Neither fish is striped, though your
description matches Copperband butterflies. >Yes, my 55 gal QT is a
bit crowded now with all these fish but, after 4 weeks, they will be
moving to a 180 gal tank that has been setup for nearly nine months
now. The live sand in this main tank is crawling with
'pods and the wet/dry filter has contains about 5 gallons of
bio-balls that are teaming with nitrifying bacteria so (at least I
hope) these additional fish will not be seen as a significant increase
in bio-load to my main tank. >>A word of advice here, do NOT add
them all at the same time. If you feel you must do this,
then I strongly suggest you get some raw shrimp in there ASAP, as you
do NOT have sufficient numbers of nitrifiers to handle the fish
load. You must add enough to cause good peaks of ammonia and
nitrite. >Now, if I can only get my Powder Blue to eat I would be in
great shape! >>Indeed. >Thank you for all the great advice!
--Greg >>You're welcome, again. Have fun clicking
the links back and forth.. I sure did! Marina
|
Butterflyfishes for Marine Aquariums
Diversity, Selection & Care
New eBook on Amazon: Available
here
New Print Book on Create Space: Available
here
by Robert (Bob) Fenner |
|
|