Spotfin Butterfly
Chaetodon ocellatus
| Stock | Variations | Price | Quantity |
|---|
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Monday – Friday 8 AM – 9 PM
Saturday 12 PM – 4 PM
Sunday 12 PM – 9 PM
Healthy, stable animals from vetted suppliers — inspected before packing, shipped overnight. Decades of experience built this model so we can deliver premium livestock at 30%+ less than you'd pay elsewhere.
| Care Level | Moderate |
|---|---|
| Temperament | Peaceful |
| Reef Safe | No |
| Functional Benefit | Ornamental Only |
| Diet Type | Carnivore |
| Mininum Tank Size | 120 gallons |
| Max Size | 8 inches |
| Temperature | 72–78°F |
| pH Range | 8.1–8.4 |
| Specific Gravity | 1.022–1.025 |
The Spotfin Butterfly (Chaetodon ocellatus) is a Western Atlantic butterflyfish found around reefs in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Adults show a pale body with a bold black eye band, yellow highlights, and a dark “spot” near the rear of the dorsal fin.
What You’ll Observe:
- Cruises the rockwork and open water in steady laps
- Uses a consistent day/night routine and returns to a favorite shelter at lights-out
- May form a tight pair bond, staying close and moving together
- Learns feeding cues and comes out for repeated small meals
Provide a mature marine aquarium with open swimming lanes and plenty of rockwork for evening shelter. Offer small meaty foods several times daily—enriched brine shrimp, mysis, finely chopped shrimp/squid, and clam are common staples. With calm tankmates and consistent feeding, it maintains active daytime behavior and steady weight.
Can Spotfin Butterflyfish be kept as a pair
Keepers often report bonded pairs that stay within a few inches of each other. If you want two, introducing them together tends to produce the most consistent pairing behavior.
What foods usually get a new Spotfin Butterfly eating
Many hobbyists start with highly scented meaty items like live or enriched brine shrimp and small pieces of clam or shrimp. Once it is taking food reliably, it usually transitions to frozen mysis and other carnivore blends.
Do they need a lot of open swimming space
Owners frequently describe them as constant cruisers that do best when the aquascape leaves clear lanes along the front and back glass. Longer tanks make it easier to keep their swimming pattern smooth.
Will it pick at feather dusters or tube worms
Reef keepers commonly note interest in fan worms and other worm-like invertebrates as it forages. In fish-only systems, this natural foraging behavior is part of what makes them engaging to watch.
Why does my Spotfin follow one tankmate everywhere
It’s often normal pair-bond behavior—some individuals quickly choose a “partner” fish and mirror its movements. This usually looks like side-by-side cruising and sharing the same resting spot.
Shipped with pure oxygen and temperature control so it arrives stress-free and ready to eat.
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