All fish / Chaetodontidae

Banded Butterflyfish

Chaetodon striatus

Also known as banded butterfly, striped butterflyfish, banded butterfly fish, バンデッドバタフライフィッシュ, 条纹蝴蝶鱼

A white, deep-bodied butterflyfish with four dark bands across the body, including one through the eye, and a dark edge to the rear fins. It is kept for its bold, simple pattern and active grazing behaviour in larger fish-only or rocky reef tanks.

Care at a glance

Care level

Hard

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

14 cm

Temperature

23 to 27 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

500 litres

Keep as

Singly or as a mated pair

Diet

Carnivore: mysis, chopped shellfish, brine shrimp, worms and frozen marine mixes, fed several times daily

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

5 to 10 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Western Atlantic: New England and Bermuda to Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and Brazil; also off West Africa

Breeding

It spawns in pairs, releasing buoyant eggs that hatch into plankton-feeding tholichthys larvae. It has not been bred reliably in home aquariums.

Good to know

Not reef safe, as it picks at polyp corals, anemones and tubeworms. Wild-caught fish can be slow to accept prepared foods, so choose specimens already feeding.