Sunburst Butterflyfish

1 Breed Profile

The Sunburst Butterflyfish is pale tea-colored in front and dark yellow behind. At depth its colors are not vivid, but it is still liked by some aquarists. It can mix with other butterflies, including its own kind, if added to the tank together.

Chinese name: Sunburst Butterflyfish

Binomial: Chaetodon kleinii

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Osteichthyes

Subclass: Actinopterygii

Order: Perciformes

Suborder: Percoidei

Family: Chaetodontidae

Subfamily: Chaetodontinae

Genus: Chaetodon

Species: Sunburst Butterflyfish

Distribution: Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean and South China Sea

English name: Sunburst butterflyfish

2 Appearance

Not very eye-catching, but gentle, so it can mix with other butterflies, even its own kind, if added together. Thus liked by aquarists.

Front half pale tea, back half dark yellow; each scale center has a red dot; an eye band from dorsal base to front of pelvic; snout and lips black; dorsal and anal soft rays have a very narrow black edge; two faint brown bands on the side.

3 Husbandry

Easier than other butterflies, but do not neglect suitable water. Suggested 24-27 C, pH 8.1-8.4, specific gravity 1.020-1.025.

Many have clever camouflage: they hide the real eye in the black head stripe, fooling predators into thinking the head is elsewhere.

4 Feeding

Omnivorous; feed algae, coral polyps, plankton. Also animal food like fish and shrimp meat, mollusks.

Wild ones are small warm-water reef fish; laterally compressed to dart among coral, quickly vanishing into coral or rock gaps, suited to reach into coral caves for invertebrates.