Dr. John Ernest (Jack) Randall (†), Hawaii
Info
McCulloch, 1923
Chaetodon rainfordi also commonly referred as Rainford's Butterflyfish is known from waters of southern Papua New Guinea to the Great Barrier Reef and Lord Howe Island. Adults often are seen in mated pairs in their natural habitat of coastal lagoons, reef slopes, and off-shore areas.
They are also encountered in small groups on occasion. Juveniles can be observed in a group in coral rich localities. They dwell in clear coral-rich areas, rocky reefs, and reef-patch slopes
Rainford's Butterflyfish is one of the rounded, disc-shaped Butterflyfish. It is yellow with a dark-margined orange bar though the eye and a narrower orange bar through the pectoral base. There are two blue-grey bands with yellow-orange margins on the body. It is one of four species that form a distinct group, the subgenus Discochaetodon. This subgenus is restricted almost entirely to the Western Pacific and those within the subgenus can only be distinguished from one another by their individual color patterns.
Chaetodon rainfordi is one of the most difficult butterflyfish to keep in a captive environment it is best reserved for only the expert aquarist. In the wild it is reported to be a coral and algae eater. In the aquarium it is notorious for being a poor eater and not overly hardy. To acclimate and sustain Rainford's Butterflyfish will take great devotion and dedication, and even then both initial and long term success is minimal.
Remarks:
Butterflyfish are not recommended for reefs as they will pick at or eat a wide variety of corals, fan worms, and other invertebrates. Most Butterflyfish are known to pick at Aiptaisia, a parasitic anemone.
Chaetodon rainfordi also commonly referred as Rainford's Butterflyfish is known from waters of southern Papua New Guinea to the Great Barrier Reef and Lord Howe Island. Adults often are seen in mated pairs in their natural habitat of coastal lagoons, reef slopes, and off-shore areas.
They are also encountered in small groups on occasion. Juveniles can be observed in a group in coral rich localities. They dwell in clear coral-rich areas, rocky reefs, and reef-patch slopes
Rainford's Butterflyfish is one of the rounded, disc-shaped Butterflyfish. It is yellow with a dark-margined orange bar though the eye and a narrower orange bar through the pectoral base. There are two blue-grey bands with yellow-orange margins on the body. It is one of four species that form a distinct group, the subgenus Discochaetodon. This subgenus is restricted almost entirely to the Western Pacific and those within the subgenus can only be distinguished from one another by their individual color patterns.
Chaetodon rainfordi is one of the most difficult butterflyfish to keep in a captive environment it is best reserved for only the expert aquarist. In the wild it is reported to be a coral and algae eater. In the aquarium it is notorious for being a poor eater and not overly hardy. To acclimate and sustain Rainford's Butterflyfish will take great devotion and dedication, and even then both initial and long term success is minimal.
Remarks:
Butterflyfish are not recommended for reefs as they will pick at or eat a wide variety of corals, fan worms, and other invertebrates. Most Butterflyfish are known to pick at Aiptaisia, a parasitic anemone.
