All fish / Chaetodontidae

Blackwedged Butterflyfish

Chaetodon falcula

Also known as saddleback butterflyfish, blackwedge butterflyfish, black-wedged butterflyfish, falcula butterflyfish, double saddle butterflyfish, sickle butterflyfish, ファルクラバタフライフィッシュ, kepe-kepe, 镰形蝴蝶鱼, 黑背蝴蝶鱼

A white butterflyfish with fine dark vertical lines, a bright yellow rear and tail, and two black wedge-shaped saddles across the back, plus a black eye bar. It is kept for its striking colours and is one of the hardier butterflyfish, usually taking prepared foods once settled.

Care at a glance

Care level

Moderate

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

18 cm

Temperature

24 to 27 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

450 litres

Keep as

Singly or as a mated pair

Diet

Omnivore: mysis, brine shrimp, chopped seafood, marine algae and quality flake or pellets, fed several times daily

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

5 to 10 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Indian Ocean: East Africa to the Maldives, Sri Lanka, India and western Indonesia

Breeding

It is a pelagic egg scatterer whose larvae spend a long time drifting in the plankton. It has not been bred reliably in home aquariums.

Good to know

Not reef safe, as it will nip coral polyps, anemones, tubeworms and other invertebrates. It looks very like the Pacific Chaetodon ulietensis, which has paler, less wedge-shaped saddles.