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Double Saddle Butterflyfish
Butterflyfish

Double Saddle Butterflyfish

Chaetodon falcula

Chaetodon falcula is one of the more regularly imported Indian Ocean butterflyfish, easy to recognise from the bold black saddle-shaped patches over a white, finely-striped body. It adapts to prepared foods (mysis, chopped seafood, marine pellets) more readily than many butterflies, but it's a committed coral eater — anemones, mushroom corals and stony coral polyps are all fair game — so it belongs in a FOWLR or fish-only system, never a reef tank. Juveniles under about 8cm are sometimes tolerated briefly around soft corals, but adults get steadily more destructive. Semi-aggressive and territorial with its own kind, it's best kept singly or as an already-established pair.

Temperament
Semi-aggressive
Max size
7.9"
Min tank
75 gal
Reef-safe
Not reef safe
Diet
Omnivore
Zone
Mid-water, Rockwork
Keep just one per tank — two will fight.
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Tankmates

How Double Saddle Butterflyfish gets on with the rest of the reef, checked pair by pair by the same engine as the live pre-flight.

Best kept apart

A real clash — aggression, predation or a same-genus fight.

Raccoon ButterflyfishDouble Saddle Butterflyfish and Raccoon Butterflyfish are the same genus (Chaetodon) and will fight — keep only one.Pearlscale ButterflyfishDouble Saddle Butterflyfish and Pearlscale Butterflyfish are the same genus (Chaetodon) and will fight — keep only one.Snowflake MoraySnowflake Moray has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Double Saddle Butterflyfish.Zebra MorayZebra Moray has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Double Saddle Butterflyfish.Chainlink MorayChainlink Moray has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Double Saddle Butterflyfish.Clown TriggerfishClown Triggerfish has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Double Saddle Butterflyfish.Panther GrouperPanther Grouper has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Double Saddle Butterflyfish.Klein's ButterflyfishDouble Saddle Butterflyfish and Klein's Butterflyfish are the same genus (Chaetodon) and will fight — keep only one.Milletseed ButterflyfishDouble Saddle Butterflyfish and Milletseed Butterflyfish are the same genus (Chaetodon) and will fight — keep only one.Threadfin ButterflyfishDouble Saddle Butterflyfish and Threadfin Butterflyfish are the same genus (Chaetodon) and will fight — keep only one.

Keep an eye on these

Usually fine, but worth watching in a smaller tank.

Maroon ClownfishDouble Saddle Butterflyfish and Maroon Clownfish both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Blue DamselDouble Saddle Butterflyfish and Blue Damsel both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Yellowtail DamselDouble Saddle Butterflyfish and Yellowtail Damsel both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Flame AngelfishDouble Saddle Butterflyfish and Flame Angelfish both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Coral Beauty AngelfishDouble Saddle Butterflyfish and Coral Beauty Angelfish both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Lemonpeel AngelfishDouble Saddle Butterflyfish and Lemonpeel Angelfish both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Bicolor AngelfishDouble Saddle Butterflyfish and Bicolor Angelfish both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Red Saddleback ClownfishDouble Saddle Butterflyfish and Red Saddleback Clownfish both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Yellow TangDouble Saddle Butterflyfish and Yellow Tang both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Helfrich's FirefishDouble Saddle Butterflyfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Helfrich's Firefish and may harass it.Red Sea ClownfishDouble Saddle Butterflyfish and Red Sea Clownfish both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Yasha GobyDouble Saddle Butterflyfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Yasha Goby and may harass it.Tailspot BlennyDouble Saddle Butterflyfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Tailspot Blenny and may harass it.Sailfin TangDouble Saddle Butterflyfish and Sailfin Tang both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Purple TangDouble Saddle Butterflyfish and Purple Tang both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Powder Blue TangDouble Saddle Butterflyfish and Powder Blue Tang both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Matted FilefishDouble Saddle Butterflyfish and Matted Filefish both claim the same part of the tank and may squabble.Yellow Clown GobyDouble Saddle Butterflyfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Yellow Clown Goby and may harass it.Green Clown GobyDouble Saddle Butterflyfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Green Clown Goby and may harass it.Neon GobyDouble Saddle Butterflyfish (semi-aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Neon Goby and may harass it.