Raccoon Butterfly (Asia Pacific)

The delightful Raccoon butterfly resembles a mischievous thief with its dark eye mask. Contrasting this is a wide band in pure white, and another black stripe extending towards its back. Overlaid atop its buttery yellow body are darker stripes arching towards the tip of its dorsal fin, and a single black blotch marks the base of its tail. It grows up to 8 inches and needs an aquarium of at least 125 gallons. It is regularly imported from Bali and the Philippines.

This species is normally quite peaceful, and should not be kept with aggressive tank mates. It may chase its own kind but typically fighting does not result. It gets along well with all other butterfly species; all specimens should be added at the same time to a large aquarium. Butterflyfish do not show differences between males and females. They are related to angelfish, but lack the angel's distinctive cheek spines.

A butterflyfish's favorite food is an anemone, so they should not be kept in the same aquarium with one unless it is guarded by aggressive clownfish. The butterflyfish knows to attack the anemone on its mouth, which does not sting, and will make a quick meal of it. Because of this behavior this species is often employed to rid an aquarium of pest anemones such as Aiptasia. Many species of butterfly also benefit from filamentous algae in the aquarium to graze on.

This species may nip on many types of corals, clam mantles, sponges, and feather dusters. They do not typically bother other types of invertebrates such as crustaceans. They feel most secure when there is plenty of live rock to hide in, as well as open space for swimming. This species is easy to feed on a variety of meaty and herbivore preparations such as frozen Mysis shrimp, half shell clams, marine algae and Spirulina; it should be fed 2-3 times a day.