Blacklip butterfly seems stressed.

[tkarman]

Hello i have a couple questions about my 55 gallon saltwater tank. I have a eheim pro 3 canister filter on my tank with a couple powerheads for water movement. i have 30 pounds on live rock. 25 hermit crabs, 4 fire shrimp, 1 clown goby, one shrimpgoby, and one Back flip butterfly. i have had my tank running for about 7 months. my water readings are ph 8.1, nitrite 0, ammonia 0, calcium 380, Kh 13 dkh, nitrate around 10 ppms. i just bought the backflip butterfly a week ago and he seems to be a bit stressed. i did a water change and during the water change he was zooming around the tank and looked happy. but now he is just kind of hiding and his gills are moving quickly. i am going to buy a protein skimmer with in a week. i was wondering if it was a lack of oxygen in my tank or something like that because i have notice some of my other fish gills moving fast at times.

 

[btldreef]

Can you post a picture of your tank?
How did you acclimate?
What do you use to test?
How do you do your water changes?

 

[tkarman]

I will be adding more liverock as well soon.
i have a 20 snails too.
i drip acclimated for about 2 hours.
water changes i have to brute trash buckets 32 gallon each on dirty one clean i did a 50 percent water change let it sit for 24 hours i use prime and stress coat to treat the tap water aswell. when i was doing the water change the butterfly was zooming around.
i use API saltwater master test kit.
thanks for the help

 

[btldreef]

Honestly, I think your tank is way too new/not established enough and doesn't have enough rock work for the butterfly to pic at.

 

[tkarman]

ok thanks i will put more live rock it has been picking at what i have but not a lot. it has been eating mysis shrimp aswell.

 

[btldreef]

Also, I can't see how much surface agitation from the picture. Your water should look similar to a boiling pot at the surface, if you're worried about oxygen.

 

[tkarman]

ok thanks than it must not be an oxygen problem because the top of the water looks like that. also do you know the normal behavior of the backflip butterfly because he is not moving a ton but is slowly moving around the tank. he has been eating mysis but today was the first day he didnt eat it. i have tryed a some crushed clam brine shrimp, a few algee based foods awell but he only nibbled a little on seaweed blend by instant ocean.

 

[btldreef]

I have never heard of a backflip butterfly, does it have another common name?
Butterflies are really not easy fish as a group.

 

[tkarman]

i bought it off of saltwaterfish.com they have it under backflip butterfly but i do not know its common name.

 

[btldreef]

Ahh, you have the name wrong. It's BLACKLIP(Chaetodon kleinii), not backFLIP
Have you read the write up on these guys:
"The family of Butterflyfish get their name from their behavior offluttering around the reef. These fish typically have rather round and thin bodies. They are very colorful and some have extended snouts which they use to reach worms entrenched in the reef. They do spend their days pecking at coral and rockwork with their long, thin snouts in search of coral polyps, worms, and the many small invertebrates.These fish feeds on filamentous algae, small invertebrates, coral polyps, and fish eggs. Offer frozen butterfly food, chopped clams, enriched flake food or small pellets.Although they are considered easy to keep, they will do better is a system that has been established for at least six months.Some butterflyfish species travel in small schools, many are solitary until they find a partner, with whom they may mate for life."
In my honest opinion, your tank is just too new for this fish. Butterflies get the main part of their food source from picking at mature rockwork and corals throughout the day. Your tank just isn't offering this right now. Have you tried any foods specifically made for Butterflies?
My honest suggestion would be to trade this guy into a LFS and get something that is better suited for your tank at the moment. What is your ultimate stock list for this tank? If you post it, we can adjust what order things should be added so that each fish thrives.

 

[tkarman]

ok thanks for the advice. i really like the coral beauty angle fish but i may just wait till my tank matures and i get more LR.

 

[tkarman]

angelfish*

 

[btldreef]

Is that the only other fish you want in there?
The coral beauty, and really any other dwarf angelfish is going to need mature live rock to graze off of as well. That being said, I was a complete newb when I purchased my CB. She was one of my first additions and I still have her. She ate well, and ate everything I ever offered her, which I think is the reason I still have her. If you can find a CB that is eating a variety of foods, not just brine, or algae sheets, or mysis, but eats all three, you'll be ahead of the game. They still need algae, and a lot of it in their diet, which they get from grazing on the rocks all day (because even if you don't see it, it's there if you have a mature tank), but it will help.
I really recommend you looking through fish and putting together a desired stock list. It doesn't have to be set in stone, but it will help you get an idea for what you can have and when and what might conflict with something else.

 

[tkarman]

do you have any recommendations of interesting fish i could get?

 

[btldreef]

I did a little more research on your butterfly this morning. Seem's that the Blacklip Butterfly is more commonly know as the Sunburst Butterfly or Klein's Butterfly.
From what I found, it seems that they are a shyer butterfly and feed mainly on soft corals in the wild, but can successfully be trained to eat mysis and butterfly blend foods in the home aquarium. That being said, it's not a conversion that a beginner should attempt, and a 55G really isn't the best home for it. Being that it is a shy fish, it needs lots of rock work to hide in.
In a 55G, I would not recommend any butterflies. Being that you already have a shrimp goby and a clown goby, this is what I would go with (and by all means is this set in stone, it can be played with a lot):
1 Dwarf Angelfish - Coral Beauty, Lemon Peel, African Flameback and Flame are some of the more hardier species of dwarfs
1 Blenny - they have great personalities and quickly become many peoples favorite fish
1 flame or flasher wrasse (or any other suitable wrasse for a 55G tank, there are many to choose from)
2 clownfish
1 basslet (royal gramma or something similar)
Something along those lines, I could make a million lists, but ultimately, you have to find what fish YOU like, because it's YOUR tank.

 

[tkarman]

today i went to a local fish store and bought some butterfly food and 10 pounds more of LR. the butterfly has been doing really well and is picking away at what i have in the tank and is calming down more. i will be adding more rock within a week. i am happy to hear it is a shy fish because i do not feel as if he is stressed anymore. i think it is more his personality.

 

[btldreef]

Glad to hear it's doing better. Long term, he's can't stay in a 55G, he'll get too big, and the smaller tank size will add to his stress/shyness so keep this in mind.
Good luck with it.
Edit: Do you mind if I change the title to the proper name, you might get more people to comment that way? Although, I don't think there are a ton of people that have a Blacklip on this site.

 

[tkarman]

ya no problem.
thanks for all the help.

 

[mr. limpid]

My I suggest setting up a QT, placing anything directly into your DT may bring ICK. Then all your fish will be effected. A small 10gal bare bottom with a piece of plastic pipe. If you go to the disease form there is a good thread on how to set up one. I'm speaking from experience I place new LR from a local store directly into my DT and my my fish came down with ICK.

 

[tkarman]

thanks for the advice i did not know liverock could carry ich. i have an old ten gallon tank that i am going to set up. can you cycle a tank with LR. if i want set up my 10 gallon but it needs to be cycled could i buy LR from SWF.com and than treat it in there while cycling the 10 gallon?