All fish / Chaetodontidae

Smith's butterflyfish

Chaetodon smithi

Also known as smith's butterfly, smiths butterflyfish, rapa butterflyfish, スミスバタフライフィッシュ, 史氏蝴蝶鱼

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A dark grey to blackish butterflyfish with a pale rear body and yellow tail, unusual among its relatives for feeding on plankton in midwater schools. It is rarely exported because of its remote range, so it is mainly sought by collectors of rare butterflyfishes.

Care at a glance

Care level

Hard

Temperament

Peaceful

Adult size

15 cm

Temperature

22 to 26 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

400 litres

Keep as

Singly or as a pair; schools in the wild

Diet

Omnivore: zooplankton, mysis and brine shrimp, chopped seafood, marine flakes and pellets

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

5 to 10 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Southeast Pacific: Rapa, Pitcairn and Austral Islands (French Polynesia)

Breeding

It scatters pelagic eggs in open water and the larvae pass through a long planktonic stage. It has not been bred in home aquariums.

Good to know

Very rare and costly in the trade owing to its tiny range around Rapa and Pitcairn. Like most butterflyfish it may pick at some invertebrates, so caution in reef tanks.