How to Identify Reef Butterfly Fish

By N.f. Mendoza

Instructions

Things You’ll Need:

Ability/equipment to go below 40 ft. below sea level
Ability to visit the western Atlantic Ocean from Brasil to North Carolina including Bermuda and the Gulf of Mexico

Step 1:
Find them first. They are a tropical western Atlantic species, found in the waters of the Carolinas to northern South America, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.
Step 2:
Understand they a reef species. The reef provides plenty of hiding spaces for these fishes as well as good habitat for the small invertebrates on which it feeds.
Step 3:
Remember that it has a short, pointed snout.
Step 4:
Note that it has a a long dorsal fin that separates in the beginning into spines.
Step 5:
Keep in mind that the Reef Butterfly Fish has a silver body, yellow and black dorsal fin, and yellow tail.
Step 6:
Know that there are two distinguishing vertical black bars on the body. One is on the head and runs down through the eye. The other one runs down along the rear of the body, including the rear portion of the dorsal and anal fins.
Step 7:
Understand that the Reef Butterfly Fish may reach lengths of 6 inches (15 cm).
Step 8:
Bear in mind that the teeth are long and slender, flattened, and slightly curved at the tips, designed for scraping and nipping at the small invertebrates, including polychaete worms, shrimps, and amphipods, that make up its diet.

Tips & Warnings

The flesh of the Reef Butterfly Fish is not toxic, but they are generally not harvested for food. They are, however, taken for the aquarium trade. Their diet may make them somewhat of a problem to maintain, though the juveniles seem to thrive better in captivity than the adults.

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