White Face Butterfly (Chaetodon mesoleucos)

[alfon76]

Hi everyone:
I would like to know if anyone has an idea of the rarity of this fish and if they are supposed to be very expensive. Why do I ask this? Well, I have been doing my research on butterflies before jumping into buying any (especially Semilarvatus) and I came accross several websites where they are offering this C. mesoleucos for almost $200 under the claim that is has been years since it was last available and that they are hard to get.
Today I was doing my round of the local fish stores to see what each one had available and I found one that had about 6 of these guys in a tank for $25 each. Another store had a large one (about 4.5 inches long) for $40 and this one has been with them for a while according to the owner. It is a nice looking fish and I wouldn't mind having it as a companion to the Semilarvatus in the future as it also hails from the Red Sea but I wanted to know if I should jump on the deal of them being at $25 or if it is just that the online stores are trying to make a lot of money from an otherwise inexpensive fish.
Thanks again for any info,
Ivan

 

[alfon76]

Also, I forgot to ask if anyone knows if this fish is available from any other part aside from the Red Sea. I ask this only because if the fish does come from any other place, then it might explain why the lfs have them for way cheaper than the places I saw online. I tried to find any info online regrding this specific butterfly yet all I found was the same place that is selling them for $195 saying that they are endemic to the Red Sea. Dr. Burguess Saltwater Atlas has this fish names as "Red Sea Butterflyfish" but I don't know if I should take this as a "yes the fish only comes from the Red Sea" or "it comes from the Red Sea as well as from other places".
Sorry for all the relatively stupid questions,
Ivan

 

[psufan43]

OMG 25 BUCKS WHERE ARE YOU AT?
MY LOCAL FISH STORE HAS ONE FIRST ONE THEY HAVE RECIVED IN 3 YEARS. ITS A 105 BUCKS. THEY ARE ONE OF THE MORE EXPENSIVE STORES THOUGH. BUT THEY ARE MOVING TO THE OPPOSIE SIDE OF THE PLAZA THEY ARE IN, THEY TOLD ME WHEN THEY MOVED IT WOULD BE UP TO 175.

 

[alfon76]

I am in Central Florida area and I swear to you that they are that cheap. They are even labeled as Mesoleucos Butterfly so I know they are not mistaken. Both fish stores that have them are withing a short distance from one another so I don't know if they get fish from the same place or what. If the price is that good I might just jump on one of them at least and see how it does for me. The ones that are $25 each are small (about 1.5" long) while the one at $40 is about 4.5" long. I guess that either price is a steal but I want to make sure that this fish doesn't hail from any other place than the red Sea. If they can be found in the Philippines and such then these ones might have come from there and I don't want them. But if this fish can only be collected at the Red Sea and I have the chance of buyng them as cheap as they are right now, then I do not want to miss the bus.
Any thoughts?
Ivan

 

[psufan43]

The one at my LFS is 3 inches he is 105.
I have another store that a frined of mine owns and he got me one 2 years ago for 60 bucks (which is what it cost him).
I kept him with a pakistan, and a dot and dash. I would recomend starting him off with brine shrimp, as he might not be a ready eater.

 

[nm reef]

I know nothing about them...but since I was curious I tried a search and found this...http://www.sphyraena.com/library/Ch_mesoleucos.html

 

[nm reef]

...and a site I found has them listed as..."not available for years....2.5"-3.5" $105"...so if you can get a healthy one for $25 and you can meet their requirments then I'd say jump on it before they find out how much some places get for them!!

 

[alfon76]

Thanks for the link NM Reef. That is the only place that I got confirmation that the fish is from the Red Sea only. Given the fact that it seems like I might have a great deal right in front of my face and not even realize it (until now of course), I might cruise by the lfs on Tuesday and see if I can purchase that fish. I might try to buy the one that is $40 mainly because it seems more established and supposedly a long term captive. However, if the ones at the other store (the ones at $25) are eating and doing ok, then I can actually buy 2 small ones and keep them as a pair.
I'll keep you posted and will try to post any pics if I get him/them.
If anyone else has any info/comments/input on this fish and its prices please let me know.
Thanks,
Ivan

 

[nm reef]

Information I've seen indicates that you'd be better off keeping just one...they may not get along together.Let us know what you do...they are a very interesting looking species.

 

[psufan43]

Yes when i was doing research on them i remember hearing only one, unless they are a known pair.

 

[alfon76]

I have not read that they need to be kept singly but neither have I read that they love being in pairs or schools so I will play it safe and buy only one, especially if I get the bigger one that is at $40.
Thanks again for all the help and info. I will post pics after I get the guy.
Take care,
Ivan

 

[alfon76]

I still have a question guys. Do any of you found out if this fish can be collected anywhere else. I talked to a freind of mine and he told me that he believes that C. mesoleucos was also collected out of Indonesia which would mean that the cheaper fish available here are from that area. I have not found anywhere any statement saying that this fish is widespread and most of the time they are referring to this fish as "endemic" to the Red Sea which would mean that, like the Semilarvatus, it only comes from there.
If any of you have found info regarding this please let me know as it would explain the price difference plus it would also affect my decision to buy any of them. I will ask the people at the fish stores to see where they got them and see if they say it was from the Red Sea.
Thanks again,
Ivan

 

[psufan43]

I have only seen it twice ever, once my friend got it for me from the red sea, and now at my LFS from the red sea, most places i have read it is a red sea only fish, much like the semilarvtius. (i know i killed that spelling).
my friends store gets quite rare fish in. Since they know some divers/ They usually get personifers and tinker's once every other month, but the white face is very rare, so from that i would think it is a red sea only.

 

[alfon76]

Well, here he/she is. I ended up buying the larger one since it was eating and has been in that store since April. He ate mysis shrimp from the clerk's hand and they even sweetened the deal even more by letting me have the fish for only $35 instead of $40. Basically I spent $10 more for this fish than the ones at the other store ($25 each) but this one is eating, better acclimated and bigger which are all pluses in my book.
Thanks for all the info and help and hope you enjoy the pic. He is always swimming around but seems like as soon as the camera approaches he hides under the rocks. The pics came out blurry but it is the best one out of 10 that I took.
Ivan