Sevenband Butterflyfish

About

The sevenband butterflyfish (Chaetodon punctatofasciatus) is a compact and well-marked species from the Indo-Pacific, ranging from Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean all the way east to the Line Islands, north to the Ryukyu Islands, and throughout much of Micronesia. Its common names give you a good sense of the pattern: vertical body bands are interrupted by rows of dots, creating a somewhat broken, dashed look that sets it apart from the plainer members of the butterflyfish family. In the wild, adults favor clear-water coral reef environments, both in lagoons and along seaward reef faces, where they spend most of their time picking at filamentous algae, coral polyps, and small invertebrates. Juveniles tend to stay tucked away in the reef structure, but adults are considerably more visible and are frequently observed swimming in bonded pairs. This species is monogamous and tends to hold those partnerships over time. Interestingly, in the southern portions of its range it occasionally hybridizes with the closely related C. pelewensis. In an aquarium setting it falls into intermediate territory. Not the most demanding butterflyfish out there, but it does require a well-established reef setup with plenty of live rock and consistent water quality to do well long-term.