Chaetodon melannotus

Bloch & Schneider, 1801

Blackback Butterflyfish

Range: Indo-Pacific Ocean: Widespread - Red Sea to Samoa, north to Southern Japan and south to Lord Howe Island.

Size: 6 inches (15 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits lagoon patch reefs, reef flats, and fore-reef slopes at depths of 3 – 100 feet (1 – 30 m) and feeds almost exclusively on soft coral polyps, along with minor amounts of stony coral ployps, sea anemones, and algae.

General Husbandry: An attractive species having a silvery body with slanting horizontal black lines, black eye band, yellow mouth, and yellow dorsal, anal, pelvic and tail fins.

Peaceful fish-only aquariums, especially those with lots of open swimming space, and live rock hiding places will suite this very hardy species quite well. As to diet, a meaty diet of live fortified brine shrimp and/or black worms (Lumbriculus variegatus) can be considered a treat, as this species is quite easy to feed on various frozen meaty foods such as mysis, which should be offered several times daily. An additional treat would be small human consumption clams/black mussels purchased in local grocery stores and placed on the half-shell in the aquarium.

Taxonomy:

Order: Perciformes

Suborder: Percoidei

Family: Chaetodontidae

Genus: Chaetodon

FYI: Juveniles acclimate more easily to aquarium life than do adults.

Does well with other members in the family, except with those of similar colors.

Pressing some soft foods into openings/crevices on a piece of old dead coral skeleton can sometimes encourage finicky eaters to begin feeding.

Experience Level: Intermediate

Temperament: Peaceful

Diet: Carnivore

Coral Safe: No

Invertebrate Safe: No

Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+

Aquarium Environment: Fish-only aquarium

Tankmates: Peaceful or non-aggressive

Minimum Tank Size: 55 gallons

Temperature Range: 74 - 82°F (23 – 28°C)

Specific Gravity: 1.020 -1.026

pH: 8.0 - 8.5