ReefPicker
← Livestock checker
Pearlscale Butterflyfish
Butterflyfish

Pearlscale Butterflyfish

Chaetodon xanthurus

A beautifully netted butterflyfish — pearly white scales cross-hatched in black, a dark eye bar, and a burst of orange across the tail. It is one of the hardier, more peaceful butterflies and an excellent centrepiece for a fish-only or FOWLR system, but it is not a reef fish: it grazes on soft corals, stony-coral polyps, tube worms, and small ornamental shrimp. Keep one per tank (it squabbles with butterflies of similar pattern) and feed it several small meals a day.

Temperament
Peaceful
Max size
5.5"
Min tank
90 gal
Reef-safe
Not reef safe
Diet
Carnivore
Zone
Mid-water, Rockwork
Keep just one per tank — two will fight.
Something look wrong? Report an error

Tankmates

How Pearlscale 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.

Purple TangPurple Tang (aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Pearlscale Butterflyfish and may harass it.Picasso TriggerfishPicasso Triggerfish (aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Pearlscale Butterflyfish and may harass it.Raccoon ButterflyfishPearlscale Butterflyfish and Raccoon Butterflyfish are the same genus (Chaetodon) and will fight — keep only one.Volitans LionfishVolitans Lionfish has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Pearlscale Butterflyfish.Snowflake MoraySnowflake Moray has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Pearlscale Butterflyfish.Zebra MorayZebra Moray has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Pearlscale Butterflyfish.Chainlink MorayChainlink Moray has a big enough mouth to eat the much smaller Pearlscale Butterflyfish.Rectangle TriggerfishRectangle Triggerfish (aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Pearlscale Butterflyfish and may harass it.Clown TriggerfishClown Triggerfish (aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Pearlscale Butterflyfish and may harass it.Miniata GrouperMiniata Grouper (aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Pearlscale Butterflyfish and may harass it.Panther GrouperPanther Grouper (aggressive) is much larger than the peaceful Pearlscale Butterflyfish and may harass it.Blue-Leg Hermit CrabPearlscale Butterflyfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Blue-Leg Hermit Crab is on the menu.Trochus SnailPearlscale Butterflyfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Trochus Snail is on the menu.Astrea SnailPearlscale Butterflyfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Astrea Snail is on the menu.Cerith SnailPearlscale Butterflyfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Cerith Snail is on the menu.Nassarius SnailPearlscale Butterflyfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Nassarius Snail is on the menu.Nerite SnailPearlscale Butterflyfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Nerite Snail is on the menu.Bumble Bee SnailPearlscale Butterflyfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Bumble Bee Snail is on the menu.Scarlet Reef Hermit CrabPearlscale Butterflyfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Scarlet Reef Hermit Crab is on the menu.Zebra Hermit CrabPearlscale Butterflyfish hunts small cleanup-crew inverts — your Zebra Hermit Crab is on the menu.