by Stan & Debbie Hauter
Photo use courtesy Flying Fish Express
Butterfly Fish Index
Common Name: Teardrop Butterfly
One-Spot Butterfly
Hawaiian Name: La-u ha-u
Ki-ka ka-pu (common Hawaiian
name for all Butterfly Fishes)
Scientific Name: Chaetodon unimaculatus
Source Info: Fishes of Hawaii
by Spencer Wilkie Tinker
The body of this fish white on the bottom half and various shades of yellow on the top half. There are some yellow markings mid-body. The pectoral fin is clear and the anal fin is yellow. It is marked with a large black spot on the upper center of the body. It has two wide, black, vertical bands. One runs through the eye and the other through the ends of the dorsal fin, caudal peduncle, and the anal fin. The mouth area in front of the eyes is white.We have found this fish in small groups, pairs, or singly on the reef. It inhabits various depths from shallower waters out to the deeper waters of 60 plus feet. The distribution of this species extends from Hawaii southward to central Polynesia and westward through Micronesia, Melanesia, and the East Indies, and then on across the Indian Ocean to the coast of Africa.
It reaches an average length of about five inches, but some specimens have been seen on occasion at about seven inches. The larger specimens that we have seen were in pairs.
As a juvenile this fish will adapt to tank life and foods fairly well. However, as adults they are slow to learn and are sometime difficult to get to eat. Like most fish in the Butterfly Fish Family they are coral pickers, but also eat small marine life and algae off of rocks and coral. We have had success with them eating brine, dried or frozen shrimp, nori, dried blood worms and basic flake foods.
The Teardrop Butterfly can be sensitive to ammonia levels and bacterial infections.
Our Fish Care Rating Level
Juvenile Specimens
Adult Specimens
