All fish / Chaetodontidae

Foureye butterflyfish

Chaetodon capistratus

Also known as four-eyed butterflyfish, foureye butterflyfish, four eye butterfly, four-eye butterflyfish, capistratus butterflyfish, フォーアイバタフライフィッシュ, 四眼蝴蝶鱼

This is a pale grey to white butterflyfish with thin dark diagonal lines, yellow fins, a black bar through the eye and a large white-ringed black spot near the tail that looks like a second eye. The false eyespot is thought to confuse predators. People keep it because it is a hardy-looking, attractive Caribbean species that is often collected in the region.

Care at a glance

Care level

Hard

Temperament

Peaceful

Adult size

10 cm

Temperature

23 to 27 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

300 litres

Keep as

Singly or as a mated pair

Diet

Carnivore: in the wild eats coral polyps, anemones, worms and small crustaceans; in aquariums offer mysis, chopped clam and mussel, enriched brine shrimp and quality frozen mixes several times a day

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

5 to 8 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Western Atlantic: Massachusetts and Bermuda south through the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico to northern South America

Breeding

It scatters pelagic eggs as pairs spawn in open water near dusk, and the larvae go through a long drifting tholichthys stage. It has not been bred in home aquariums in any meaningful way.

Good to know

Many specimens refuse to eat and need a fussy feeding regime, so buy only fish already seen eating. It picks at corals, anemones and sessile invertebrates, so it is not reef safe.