Chaetodon unimaculatus

Bloch, 1787

Teardrop Butterflyfish

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Christmas Island and Cocos-Keeling Island east to Hawaiian, Marquesas and Ducie Islands, north to Southern Japan, and south to Lord Howe and Rapa Islands.

Size: 8 inches (20 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits lagoon patch reefs, reef flats, and fore-reef slopes at depths between 3 – 200 feet (1 – 60 m) and feeds on soft and stony coral polyps, crustaceans, clams, sponges, worms, tunicates, sea anemones and filamentous algae.

General Husbandry: A somewhat hardy, yet a quite attractive species having a yellowish-whitish body with a large black patch on the upper mid body, black eye band, the caudal peduncle black, and the dorsal, anal and pelvic fins bright yellow.

Best maintained in larger peaceful fish-only aquariums, especially those with lots of open swimming space, live rock hiding places, and having lots of micro and macroalgae growths. As to diet, a meaty diet of live fortified brine shrimp and/or black worms (Lumbriculus variegatus) is a good beginning. Once feeding regularly, various frozen meaty foods such as mysis, can be offered several times daily. Flake foods, especially those containing Spirulina and/or Nori should also be occasionally offered. Not a difficult species to get feeding in captivity.

Yet should there be a problem getting this species to feed, small human consumption clams/black mussels purchased in local grocery stores and placed on the half-shell in the aquarium may help entice it to begin feeding. Over time, frozen foods like mysis and brine shrimp may be more readily accepted.

Taxonomy:

Order: Perciformes

Suborder: Percoidei

Family: Chaetodontidae

Genus: Chaetodon

FYI: Will consume Aiptasia anemones

Can be maintained. with others in the same genus or with others from other butterflyfish genera, yet best to introduce all at the same time.

Juveniles acclimate more easily to aquarium life than do adults.

Pressing some soft foods into openings/crevices on a piece of old dead coral skeleton can sometimes encourage finicky eaters to begin feeding.

Experience Level: Intermediate

Temperament: Peaceful

Diet: Omnivore

Coral Safe: No

Invertebrate Safe: No

Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+

Aquarium Environment: Fish-only aquarium

Tankmates: Peaceful or non-aggressive

Minimum Tank Size: 100 gallons

Temperature Range: 72 - 82°F (22 – 28°C)

Specific Gravity: 1.020 -1.026

pH: 8.0 - 8.5