is Heniochus acuminatus Reef safe?

[Jasontkd]

Hey all, i have been looking at this fish, and a lot of websites say if is not reef compatible, but then I look on her and see pictures of peoples reef tanks that have them in it. any advice?

[kwjones]

There's 2 kinds of Henis...acuminatus and diphruetes. I have 2 diphruetes which are supposed to be the reef safe ones, but tell that to the mushrooms and xenia I used to have.

I think both species of Henis are hit or miss on the "Reef Safe" label, but that's just my opinion.

[Jasontkd]

well, I set up a 55 gallon aquarium for my friends parents, and have been walking them through everything, and we had come up with a plan for how it was all going to go, and then the other day they got impatient apparently, and went out and bought a yellow tang, and one of these stripped butterfly fish. I was shocked. i told them that they may be able to keep one, but not both in that size aquarium, unless they are ready to upgrade when time comes. the worst part is, that without consulting me at all on this, they went to Petco and took some idots advice and just bought them. But, I figured since they got it, I should try to figure out exactly what it is and if it can stick around for a little while or not.

[tdwyatt]

The biggest issue with these fish is getting the right specimens, as they are quite difficult to ID when side by side, even to the experienced eye. The R-O-T of where the black stripe at the lower rear margin comes to is not always 100% a marker, as it really comes down to the number of rays in the dorsal fin and a few other markers that really have to all be in agreement to positively ID one from the other.


See comments in this thread for better ID information. Once again these are still butterflyfishes, and as such may occasionally chose something outside their normal diet if they are hungry enough... ...and they usually have not read the book.


I must add that I had 3 of them until a recent accidental power outage (these are high O2 demanding fishes, they cannot survive 12 hours without circulation in a tank with a DSB) That were model citizens in a tank FULL of stony corals and a Trachyphyllia spp. brain, the true test for butterfly reef compatibility... They never even nibbled the brain, and were only fed very small feedings once day (about 4 to 6 mysids with selcon each in the morning)


HTH

[VWD]

Tom , That link sends me to Microsoft.com.

[kwjones]

Mine never had a problem eating...quite the opposite most of the time.

I woke up this morning and got up to feed the fish, found the larger of the 2 dead and wedged under a rock. Tom, what's the average lifespan for a captive Heni? Mine are pretty good sized, both are about the size of my hand with a good 4 to 8" banner and we've had them over 2 years. Most of the one I see at the LFS are silver dollar size or a little smaller. So I'm curious as to how fast they grow and what the average lifespan is for them.

[tdwyatt]

Vince, I think I fixed the link, TRT is acting strangly for me as of late...


The Heniochus spp should have a long captive lifespan if water quality is consistently good and they are well-fed and the O2 level is not allowed to fall. These fishes require high O2 concentrations due to their high levels of activity, so in systems with DSB it is important to maintain good oxygenation via skimmer or the like at night. Specimen loss for no apparent reason is usually associated with either ammonia spikes, O2 tension drops into the sub 5 range, or poor feeding of these specimens. They may appear to be eating well, but unless they receive good adequate nutrition (flake will not do), they may look good, but will expire due to nutritional deficiencies. Make sure that they receive HUFA supplements with their diet through the use of Selcon or similar HUFA additives to food. Although many of these fishes are sold as easy-to-dare-for specimens, their longevity is dependent on good food, good water quality, and good oxygenation, as they are quite susceptible to changes in these parameters.


Prolly not a good fish for folks just getting into the hobby, and ultimately due to the need for frequent feeding of these very active fishes (not to mention the dificulty ID'ing the right species as plankton eaters), they are not the best specimens for reef tanks (I know, I prolly will not replace mine either...)


HTH

[VWD]

Thanks Tom , Good web site.

[kwjones]

I figured they were a pretty long lived fish.

Tested my water params, everything is normal like I thought it would be.
I'm ruling out stray voltage because of the grounding probe.
I'm ruling out food because it at like a pig. I rotate through blender mush, frozen Prime Reef, frozen Cyclopeze, frozen Formula 1 & 2, frozen Mysid shrimp, frozen Silversides (for the eel, but the Heni's like to pick at them too) and sheets of nori. It was fat and healthy looking up til the day I found it dead.

I'm ruling out the O2 levels...bare bottom tank, HOB Remora Pro skimmer in the tank instead of the sump, 2400 GPH closed loop that makes the surface water look like it's boiling...

So that leaves me with internal parasites, or some other disease I don't know about. I don't know where something like that would come from since I haven't introduced anything new into the tank for almost a year.

That also leaves possible attack from the snowflake eel (12-18"), although I doubt it because the eel hides as soon as anything comes near it. I make sure to keep him well fed so he won't get as many ideas in his head about snacking on any of the fish, but the Heni did pick on the eel when I introduced him to the tank, so maybe it was revenge?