Tinker's Butterflyfish

About

The Hawaiian Butterflyfish (Chaetodon tinkeri) is one of those species that stops you in your tracks the moment you see it. The body is divided almost cleanly in half, the front portion white with fine dark speckling, the rear half a deep black, finished off with an orange-yellow tail. It's a bold, graphic look that doesn't really resemble most other butterflies. In the wild it's found around the Hawaiian Islands, Johnston Atoll, and into the Marshall Islands, typically hugging steep drop-offs and deep reef slopes where it picks at both drifting planktonic material and benthic organisms. It tends to be solitary or paired up, occasionally joining small loose groups. In the aquarium this species is considered intermediate in difficulty, partly because of its deep-water origins. Sudden swings in water quality or lighting can stress it. A well-established reef or fish-only tank with plenty of live rock for grazing and refuge is the right kind of setup. Because these fish come from depth, they command high prices from collectors, so you're not likely to find one cheap at a chain store. For a keeper ready to commit, though, it's a genuinely rewarding fish with a calm, deliberate personality.