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.
In-store purchase only. Live fish, coral, and invertebrates are sold at our Erie store only. They cannot be bought online, and we do not ship live animals under any circumstances.
Live fish are priced per supplier batch — prices may vary. Call to confirm current pricing.
- Condition
- new
- Fulfillment
- Local pickup — Erie, PA
Live animals are sold in store only — we do not ship fish, coral, or invertebrates. Every animal is acclimated and health-checked in-house before it reaches the sales floor. This is a species we carry — it's most likely in the tanks around delivery days, but live stock changes daily. Please call (814) 456-9445 to confirm availability 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 buy it specifically because it eats nuisance Aiptasia anemones.
Stock and individual temperament vary — call (814) 456-9445 for pairing advice before you buy.
Good tankmates
Plays well with.
Species we’d keep in the same tank, with why each pairing works. Stock and individual temperament vary — call (814) 456-9445 to confirm before you buy.
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.