Nonetheless, there are some species among the butterflyfishes that adapt reasonably well to aquarium conditions and feeding and, therefore, tend to thrive in captivity given the right environment and care.
Among the better butterflies is one of my personal favorites: the yellow longnose butterflyfish (Forcipiger flavissimus) from the Indo-Pacific. While I wouldn’t describe F. flavissimus as particularly beginner friendly, I think it’s a pretty solid choice for the experienced hobbyist with the right setup.
Physical attributes
F. flavissimus is highly compressed laterally (flattened from side to side) and is bright yellow from the head backward, not including the transparent pectoral and caudal fins. The top half of the head is black, extending down to just over halfway through the eye, while the bottom half is silvery white. A black ocellus, or “eye spot,” appears on the anal fin just below the caudal peduncle (base of the tail). Of course, as its common name implies, this fish has a thin, elongated snout. Its maximum size is 8 to 9 inches.
A close cousin
I should point out that F. flavissimus has an almost identical (albeit less frequently available) cousin with an even longer, more slender schnoz—the very cleverly named big longnose butterflyfish (Forcipiger longirostris). Of course, it’s pretty tough to compare the relative nose lengths of these two species unless you have a specimen of each side by side.
A better way to tell them apart is to look at the chest area. You’ll see a cluster of small black dots there if the species in question is F. longirostris but no dots if it’s F. flavissimus. Also, on the big longnose, the black coloration on the head tends to cover the entire eye, whereas the bottom portion of the eye is silver on F. flavissimus.
Aquarium setup
A well established system containing ample live rock (offering the longnose plenty of natural feeding opportunities) is highly recommended for this species, and I would say a tank in the vicinity of 100 gallons is about minimum housing for one.
Feeding
FishBase lists this species’ natural prey items as including hydroids, fish eggs, small crustaceans, the tube feet of echinoderms, the pedicilaria of sea urchins, and polychaete tentacles. But fear not, you don’t have to worry about presenting anything so exotic to aquarium specimens. This species will accept a wide variety of small non-living meaty items, such as frozen mysids, chopped clams, chopped shrimp, etc.One important note on feeding: Make sure any specimen you have your eye on is eating at the local fish store. F. flavissimus usually learns to accept aquarium fare with little difficulty, but you don’t want to take chances. This species, like most butterflies, doesn’t have a lot of nutritional reserve and may not be able to recover if it goes a long time without eating.
Temperament and tankmates
F. flavissimus is not especially aggressive, though it will squabble with conspecifics and similar-looking species. Otherwise, it should coexist just fine with other peaceful species that are sufficiently dissimilar in appearance.
Though some sources list this species as reef safe, I wouldn’t risk keeping it with sessile invertebrates. My fear would be that the temptation to nip at coral polyps with that forceps-like snout would prove irresistible.
I have never read of being able to keep multiple specimens. Can this be accomplished in very large aquariums?
I’ve only heard of keeping multiples of this species together when you have a known mated pair. I suppose in a very large system with lots of hiding places and visual disruptions it might work to keep multiple specimens that aren’t mated, but I always err on the side of caution (some would say I’m conservative to a fault) in this regard. Nothing puts me more on edge than to have fish constantly squabbling in my tanks!
You can keep copperband and long nose butterflies in the same tank as I have both, but not two of the same species unless they are a pair and that is almost impossible to tell until you put them together. Copperbands and butterflies in the sea eat mainly worms that they pull from holes in the rock. I have been keeping them since the 70s but then they were not easy to keep. By diving with them in Tahiti I have learned what and how they eat so I feed mine live blackworms along with clams every day. They live for many years on this diet and it is the same diet I feed to all my fish along with some frozen Mysis.
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh270/urchsearch/LongNose.jpg
I have 5 small Long Nosed Butterfly in a reef tank and they turned out to be lovely and curious in nature. Have not lost any since I bought them. They have not bitten any corals as far as I know. Yes, they fond of looking into crevices and holes in rocks for food.
Glad to hear your yellow longnose butterflies are doing well, Kimberly! Hopefully they’ll continue to coexist peacefully. It’s been a long while since I’ve kept this species, but I have very fond memories.