Lined Butterfly Profile

Scientific Name:

Chaetodon lineolatus

Other Common Names:

None known.

Identification:

The Lined Butterfly is truly a stunning and beautiful fish. It has a grayish white colored body marked on the sides by about 16 or more, narrow, vertical, black lines. It has a vertical black band through the eye, and a wider black border on the body just below the dorsal fin. The fins are yellow in color.

Distribtution:

The distribution of the fish extends from Hawaii and central Polynesia westward through Micronesia, Melanesia, the East Indies, and across the Indian Ocean to the coast of Africa and the Red Sea.

Maximum Size:

To 12".

Minimum Tank Size Suggested:

75 gallon.

Characteristics & Compatibility:

This is one of the more sensitive Butterfly Fishes. Its fins are thin and delicate and are easily burnt by even lower levels of ammonia. They are difficult to get to eat, extremely shy, and usually do not do well adapting to tank life.

In Hawaiian waters this fish is a rare site, except on the Kona Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. During our 10 years of collecting fish on the island of Moloka'i we did see and collect this fish, but not very often.

Diet & Feeding:

The Lined Butterfly Fish's diet consists of coral polyps and anemones. Because of its feeding habits, it does not make a good fish for a reef tank. From our experiences of collecting and keeping this fish, because of the restrictive dietary needs, the smaller juvenile specimens adapt better to tank life then the larger adult. We have gotten this fish to eat Nori, shrimp, and flake foods. However, without the proper nutritional dietary needs, it will not survive. Many times an adult would refuse to accept any type of tank fed foods, at which time we would release it back into the wild where we collected it.

Guides Notes:

Because of the delicate nature of this fish we would only recommend it for the advanced aquarists.

We suggest a Four Star Care Rating Level for this fish.