Saltwater Fish
Copperband Butterflyfish.
An elegant butterflyfish banded in copper-orange with a long, tweezer-like snout — famous for picking off Aiptasia. A finicky eater that needs a mature, peaceful 75-gallon-plus tank and patience to get feeding. Reef-safe with caution, and a rewarding fish for the experienced keeper.
We keep this species at our Erie store. Come and see it in the tanks, or call (814) 456-9445 and ask what we have in right now.
Sea Cave keeps this species. You will find these in the tanks at 660 East 14th Street in Erie. We never ship live animals.
- Condition
- new
- Fulfillment
- Local pickup — Erie, PA
We never ship fish, coral, or invertebrates — every animal here is one you meet in person. Each one is acclimated and health-checked in-house before it goes out into the display tanks. This is a species we keep, and what is swimming on any given day changes with the deliveries, so please call (814) 456-9445 before you drive in.
Care at a glance
What to know before you take one home.
- Care level
- Advanced
- Temperament
- Semi aggressive
- Community
- Semi community
- Adult size
- 8"
- Min tank size
- 75 gallons
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Scientific name
- Chelmon rostratus
Good tank mates
The copperband is generally peaceful and a bit shy, mixing well with calm community fish like tangs, wrasses, clownfish, and other non-aggressive species in a roomy tank. It is not fully reef-safe: it picks at feather dusters, some corals, clams, and small ornamental shrimp, so keep it out of tanks with prized inverts, and avoid pushy or bullying tankmates that out-compete this slow, timid feeder for food.
Good to know
Its long tweezer-like snout is specialized for plucking small prey out of rock crevices, and many reefers keep it specifically because it eats nuisance Aiptasia anemones.
What is in the tanks and each animal's temperament vary — call (814) 456-9445 for pairing advice.
Good tankmates
Plays well with.
Species we’d keep in the same tank, with why each pairing works. What is in the tanks and each animal’s temperament vary — call (814) 456-9445 for advice on pairing.
New to stocking a tank? Read our guide on which fish live together.
Ultra Black Ice
Peaceful reef fish that shares the same saltwater parameters and poses no feeding competition or aggression threat to the shy copperband.
Green Chromis
Peaceful, schooling reef fish that occupies the water column and does not compete with the copperband's deliberate bottom-hunting feeding style.
Lyre-tail Anthias
Active but peaceful planktivore from the same Indo-Pacific range; feeds in the water column without competing with the copperband for benthic invertebrate prey.
Firefish Goby
Very peaceful, small goby that hovers near rockwork and poses zero competition or threat to the larger, slow-feeding copperband.
- F
Fairy Wrasse
Gentle, non-aggressive wrasse species that will not rush food or stress the copperband, unlike boisterous wrasse species that can outcompete it at feeding time.
Visit the store
660 East 14th Street,
Erie, PA.
Mon–Fri 12–6 · Sat 11–4 · Sun closed. Call ahead on livestock — what's on the floor rotates.