Pyramid Butterflyfish

1 Breed Introduction

Also called the Indian Silver-spot Butterflyfish, the Pyramid Butterflyfish has a broad white band across the middle of its body while the rest (except the caudal fin) is dark brown, and the tail is gray-white, making it very distinctive. However, because its coloration is not bright and differs from other butterflyfish, it is not kept very often.

Also known as: Indian Silver-spot Butterflyfish

Binomial: Hemitaurichthys zoster

Phylum: Chordata

Kingdom: Animalia

Genus: Hemitaurichthys

Order: Perciformes

Distribution: Indo-West Pacific

Class: Actinopterygii

Species: Hemitaurichthys zoster

Chinese name: Pyramid Butterflyfish

Family: Chaetodontidae

Suborder: Percoidei

2 Physical Characteristics

The Pyramid Butterflyfish has a broad white band across the middle of its body; the rest except the caudal fin is dark brown, and the tail is gray-white. It is not hard to keep, but because its color differs from other butterflyfish, it is kept mostly by connoisseurs.

It reaches 15 to 20 cm, oval and compressed. The body is silver-white, the dorsal and anal fins bright yellow, the head triangular and gray-black, and there is a triangular yellow mark from the pectoral toward the back. Dorsal fin: 12 spines, 24 to 26 soft rays; anal fin: 3 spines, 21 soft rays.

3 Housing and Environment

It is not hard to keep, but because its color differs from other butterflyfish, it is kept mostly by connoisseurs. In fact, just give stable water and balanced food.

In the wild it lives at the open edges of coral reefs, often in groups, and is carnivorous, eating organisms attached to the reef. It is found around Taiwan and Pacific reef waters, in the butterflyfish family. Keep at 27 to 28 C, seawater specific gravity 1.022 to 1.023, pH 8.0 to 8.5, nitrite below 0.05 to 0.1 mg/L, with stable water. Lighting 8 to 10 hours daily is recommended.

4 Feeding

It is a carnivorous ornamental; in the wild it appears in groups and eats organisms on the reef. It is not hard to keep, but its keeping rate is low because of its unusual color.

In captivity give balanced food: bloodworms, red worms, chopped fish meat, marine fish pellets, etc. You can coat a stone with liquid food, dry it, and place it in the water for the fish to graze. Do not keep it with invertebrates.