Recounting the Royal Raccoons

One of the fish nearly all of you will recognize has many dozens of common names in languages spanning the globe. The most common of these names in English are “Raccoon Butterflyfish” and “Halfmoon Butterfly.” Translations of these two names appear in several languages. Other names include Raccoon Coralfish, Spotted Butterflyfish, Red-striped Butterflyfish, Moon Butterflyfish, and Crescent Chaetodon. One of the staff favorite names is “Alibangbang” which comes from the Philippines and google translates as “Butterfly.” These fish have many names, primarily because they are a common fish that have a huge range, are often caught for aquariums, and occasionally harvested for food! Chaetodon, the genus of these fish, has a large number of species in it. The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) lists 105 accepted species in the genus, most of which will be seen at one time or another in your fish store.

There are two species of Raccoon Butterflyfish, and they are nearly identical in every way, with the exception of range and minor coloration differences. They can both be found at a huge range of depths, from very near the surface down to over 500 feet down. Both are most often found around tropical coral reefs, in less than 100 feet of water, as single adults and sometimes in pairs. The native range of Chaetodon lunula is very widespread, absent really only from the Americas and the Atlantic. Though specimens have been collected off the coast of Miami, and this is assumed to be a wild release of aquarium specimens. Wild release of fish is something we cannot do. It is imperative to the health of our oceans and our hobby to avoid moving species into environments where they don't belong. The other Raccoon, Chaetodon fasciatus, has a much tighter range and is confined to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Raccoons can get large, and the record wild size is almost eight inches, though a much more common adult size is five or six inches long, they are also a very active fish, and so we recommend giving them a lot of swimming space. An aquarium that has a six-foot-long footprint (or longer) would be ideal, meaning the minimum size should be over 100 gallons (at grow out), and if you want to have a couple of them, more like 150. There is obviously no maximum size. They will not need substrate but will appreciate cover and places to hide. Give them rock work that has hidey-holes and swim-throughs, and plenty of surface area for them to pick at.

They are peaceful fish, and more than one can be kept in an aquarium, though we recommend adding these all at once. They make excellent tankmates for a variety of fish, they can be kept with pretty much everything except the most aggressive fish and the timid things that would get scared into hiding during mealtimes. We also suggest avoiding keeping them with very sedentary fish like sharks as most butterflies a tendency to pick at them while grazing.

Feeding Raccoon Butterflies is very straightforward, as they are an omnivore in the wild and very adaptable to captive feeding. This is one of their biggest benefits over many other Butterflyfish that frequently have extremely specific diets. In the wild, Raccoons will graze over rocks and coral surfaces, eating pretty much everything they come across. The vast majority of this diet ends up being small invertebrates like tiny shrimp, tubeworms, featherdusters and nudibranchs though they will also consume polyps like aiptasia but also zoanthid species and perhaps other coral polyps. They love to pick at clams as well. This means that while they are not “reef safe”, they will generally accept a wide range of foods. We feed them the Algae / Color Boost shots and sinking pellets from Nutramar here and these are accepted greedily; the shots allow them to graze on food and this works very well. We also give them a mix of meaty invertebrate based foods like tubifex, bloodworm, mysis and chopped prawn from Gamma Foods. A varied diet is key to their immune health and coloration.

All Butterflyfish need excellent and stable water quality. While Raccoon Butterflyfish are among the hardiest fish in their genus, you will still need an established aquarium to add them too. The nitrates should be under 5ppm, the temp should be in the mid to high 70 degrees Fahrenheit and the pH should always be over eight, better yet at 8.2 to 8.4. This pH may require you to do some supplementation, or larger / more frequent water changes than you are used to. There is a variety of ways to keep pH high, like Kalkwasser, two-part dosing, etc. We also carry a number of buffering products that we trust from Tropic Marin and are available from QM partner stores. Ask your LFS about ways to get this done safely and stably. They range of specific gravity is not as specific as the other elements of keeping these fish, though we've found that higher SG usually means a more stable pH, you could keep them in an aquarium as low as 1.019, we suggest staying between 1.021 and 1.026. Acclimate your fish to any changes.

Raccoon Butterflyfish of both species are near the top of our “Highly Underrated Fish” list. These are gorgeous fish that do well in captivity given adequate water quality. We personally know of multiple hobbyists that have had them in displays for over 10 years! These Chaetodons are among the most starkly colored, peaceful and happily active fish available to the home hobbyist. If you aren't planning on having invertebrates, there is little drawback to the Raccoons. Head over to your Local Fish Store and ask about getting you some from Quality Marine today!