One of the larger of the butterfly fish species, the Lined Butterflyfish can get up to 12 inches (32 cm) in size. They are found near areas of heavy coral growth on reef slopes and sometimes travel in groups, pairs and in singles. If you can even find them in your local shop (rarely caught for the hobby), you may want to pass on this butterfly fish. Their potential adult size and their eating habits would keep them out of most aquarium setups. The lined butterflyfish is a coral eater, feasting on soft and stony coral polyps and mushroom anemones.Acquiring a good specimen is usually hit or miss and some recommend getting smaller sized specimens because they should acclimate more easily. Frequent small feedings several times a day may be required and once they are acclimated they should do well in the proper setup.
Obviously, feeding them coral polyps could get rather expensive. Try to offer a varied diet of meaty foods such as mysis, brine shrimp, carnivorous frozen marine foods, etc. A large tank (at least 150 gallons) is needed given their potential adult size.
If you have the right setup, this could be a nice addition to your live rock only tank with maybe faux corals used as decorations.
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