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Related FAQs: Cooks Island Butterflyfishes,
Hawaiian Butterflyfishes,
Butterflyfish Identification, Butterflyfish
Foods/Feeding/Nutrition, Butterflyfish
Compatibility, Butterflyfish
Behavior, Butterflyfish
Systems, Butterflyfish
Selection, Butterflyfish Disease,
Over to other Regional Accounts of Butterflyfishes: Hawai'i,
Red Sea, Maldives,
To: A Fishwatcher's Guide to the Fishes of the
Cook Islands
/The Conscientious
Marine Aquarist
Butterflyfishes
of the Cook Islands
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by Bob Fenner |
Chaetodon bennetti |
Butterflyfishes, family Chaetodontidae. There are two more species of
Butterflies found here than the Hawaiians, twenty-seven all told. They comprise
the usual blend of aquarium suitable to terrible survivability. I’ll go over
them here accordingly, utilizing the sliding three level scale of
"good", ones that more than half live three months, "medium"
ones that only have live a month or so, and "bad" ones where most all
are dead within a month. I’ll leave out the "unknown" aquarium
species here.
Good Cooks Butterflies:
Chaetodon auriga, the Threadfin. A great species throughout most of its
range.
| Chaetodon auriga
Forsskal 1775, the Threadfin Butterflyfish. A great beauty and hardy
aquarium specimen, though it will eat coral polyps and anemones. See other
materials on this species by clicking on name. Widespread Indo-Pacific. An
adult Auriga in the Cooks
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Chaetodon ephippium, the Saddleback Butterflyfish. To a large size
(9")
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Chaetodon ephippium Cuvier 1831, the Saddleback
Butterflyfish. To a large size (9") and too often collected too large for
aquarium use (get one 3-4" best). Central and western Pacific. Very nice
out of Hawai'i for use in the U.S. Broad feeder on benthic invertebrates
including coral polyps. Here's one in the Cooks.
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Chaetodon lunula, the Raccoon Butterflyfish. a very good choice for
eating pest Aiptasia anemones in reef tanks, though it will consume coral polyps
in some cases.
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Chaetodon lunula (Lacepede
1803), the Raccoon Butterflyfish. Though not as attractive as its namesake in
the Red Sea (C. fasciatus), the Indo-Pacific Raccoon is just as
hardy images. This one in the
Cook Islands, South Pacific.
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Chaetodon mertensii, the Chevron or Merten's Butterflyfish. A common, but
hardy and good-looking species.
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Chaetodon mertensii Cuvier 1831, the Chevron or Merten's
Butterflyfish. A common, but hardy and good-looking species. You may find the
Indian Ocean variety of this species listed/sold as C. madagaskariensis...
it's the same species. Tropical central Pacific to east African coast. To five
inches long. Pictured: one in the Maldives, Indian Ocean and one in the Cooks,
South Pacific.
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Chaetodon ulietensis, the Pacific Double Saddleback Butterflyfish. A
Pacific version of the Falcula or Saddleback Butterflyfish (Chaetodon falcula)
of the Indian Ocean.
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Chaetodon ulietensis Cuvier
1831, the Pacific Double Saddleback Butterflyfish. A Pacific version of the
Falcula or Saddleback Butterflyfish (Chaetodon falcula) of the Indian Ocean. Omnivorous
eating habits, chowing down on many types of invertebrates and algae.. To about
six inches in length. Click on name for more.
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Medium Cooks Butterflies:
Chaetodon citrinellus, the Speckled Butterflyfish. A broad feeder of
invertebrates, including corals.
| Chaetodon citrinellus Cuvier 1831, the
Speckled Butterflyfish. Aggressive in the wild, this is another broad
feeder of invertebrates, including corals. Widely distributed and common,
though never plentiful in the mid-Pacific all the way over to Africa. To
five inches overall. One in the Cooks |
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Chaetodon unimaculatus, the Teardrop Butterflyfish. Sometimes good, other
times too beat up to survive.
| Chaetodon unimaculatus Bloch 1787, the
Teardrop Butterflyfish. Often, too often imported from Indonesia, the
Philippines and even Hawai'i... like the similar Indian Ocean species of
the same common name this is an "iffy" fish that mainly perishes
due to the rigors of human (mis)handling. Shown: a
juvenile in the Cooks, an adult in Hawai'i. |
 
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Bad Cooks Butterflies:
Chaetodon bennetti, Bennett’s Butterflyfish. Most all food consists of
coral polyps
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Chaetodon bennetti Cuvier 1831, Bennett's
Butterflyfish. Central Pacific to Africa's east coast. To about six inches total
length. Most all food consists of coral polyps. Image made in the Cook
Islands.
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Chaetodon flavirostris, the Black or Yellow-Faced Butterflyfish. Usually
shy and non-feeding.
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Chaetodon flavirostris Gunther 1873, the Black or Yellow-Faced
Butterflyfish. Usually shy and non-feeding. Eats coral polyps, other
bottom-dwelling invertebrates and algae in the wild. To some eight inches long.
Way too often sold to the hobby as juveniles... they don't live. The first one at a
wholesalers, the second in the Cook Islands.
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Chaetodon lineolatus, the Lined Butterflyfish. A foot long beauty that
eats corals, Anemones.
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Chaetodon lineolatus Cuvier 1831, the Lined
Butterflyfish. At a foot long, vying for largest of the family. Widespread from
Hawai'i over to the east coast of Africa, into the Red Sea. A beauty that eats
corals, anemones, much of all else, but doesn't live. One in Hawai'i.
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Chaetodon ornatissimus, the Ornate Butterflyfish. Yet another obligate
corallivore.
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Chaetodon ornatissimus Cuvier 1831, the Ornate
Butterflyfish. Yet another obligate corallivore. Yes, a beauty, but does not
live in home fish tanks. Indo-west Pacific, Including Hawaiian Islands. To about
seven inches in length. Commonly offered, doesn't live.
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Chaetodon pelewensis, the Sunset or Dot-Dash Butterflyfish. Very similar
to the hardy Spot-Banded Butterflyfish, Chaetodon punctatofasciatus.
| Chaetodon pelewensis
Kner 1868, the Sunset or Dot-Dash Butterflyfish. Very similar to the hardy
Spot-Banded Butterflyfish, Chaetodon punctatofasciatus (see in
"Good" Chaetodon section) but with oblique
body barring versus vertical. Southern Pacific Ocean area. To five inches
length overall. This one in the Cook
Islands. |
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Chaetodon quadrimaculatus, the Four-Spot Butterflyfish. A few specimens
live and live, most die "mysteriously".
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Chaetodon quadrimaculatus Gray 1831, the Four-Spot
Butterflyfish. Found in the central to western Pacific, including Hawai'i. To
six inches long. A few specimens live and live, most die
"mysteriously" in aquarium conditions. In the wild, this species feeds
principally on Pocillopora coral polyps. Shown, a specimen in the Cooks.
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Chaetodon reticulatus, the Reticulated Butterflyfish. Dismal survival
records in captivity for this coral polyp eater.
Chaetodon reticulatus
Cuvier 1831, the Reticulated Butterflyfish. Nice looking, and
"friendly" underwater toward divers, but dismal survival records
in captivity for this coral polyp eater. Found commonly in central and
western Pacific. To six inches total length. One in the Cooks.
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Chaetodon semeion, the Dotted Butterflyfish. A touchy species that is
occasionally imported into the West.
| Chaetodon semeion Bleeker 1855, the Dotted
Butterflyfish. A touchy species that is occasionally imported into the West... found in the Indo-west Pacific from Sri Lanka to the Tuamotus of
French Polynesia. This adult in northern Indonesia. |
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Chaetodon trifascialis, Chevroned Butterflyfish. This fish is way too
often offered in the trade.
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Chaetodon trifascialis
Quoy & Gaimard 1824, Chevroned Butterflyfish. This fish is way too often
offered in the trade, belying it's wide distribution, mid-Pacific to the east
coast of Africa and the Red Sea. Almost exclusively lives on eating Acroporid
polyps. To seven inches in length. This one in the Red Sea.
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