Bannerfish help :)

Sharkie

Sharkie

The Damsel Defender
Hey guys!
So the last 3 weeks the LFS has had a bannerfish.... not sure the exact scientific name of it because their order sheet just says bannerfish BUT hes a cute little guy...

I've read that they like to be in groups but this guy has been swimming around by himself or with a few of the tangs in the tank he's in... he eats everything and seems really healthy... my only concern is do you think I should get one being I have a reef? He's really cute, has a great personality and doesn't mind his current tank mates (which includes yellow, sailfin, kole tangs and a few wrasse) and he's been there 3 weeks and looks really good health wise.... I'm just worried he might take out some corals? because he seems to like his tang buddies (he swims constantly with a yellow tang who they never leave sides) should I get the yellow tang with him as well? should I avoid it?

I've been reading a lot on them and I can't really tell a difference between the reef and nonreef safe ones :p so someone whos had one of these cute lil guys give me some insight! LOL
 
Can you get a picture sharkie? there are some bannerfish which are 'risk only' and some that are not reef safe. Singular bannerfish ive been told are reef safe and generally have a black mouth. Someone correct me if im wrong, im running off memory of one of my posts.
 
Just copied and pasted from one of my previous responses. Hope you don't mind :)



Longfin Bannerfish (H. Acuminatus) are NOT reef safe. However there ARE other species that look damn near identical that ARE reef safe or "reef safe with caution." The Schooling Bannerfish (H. Diphreutes) is perfectly reef safe. As with any butterflyfish, keeping them well fed will reduce chances of them nipping at your corals.

There is also a third species, the Singular Bannerfish (H. Singularius) that is relatively reef safe as well. Again keeping them well fed should keep them off your corals.

Keep in mind that ALL Bannerfish are voracious eaters and will need fed 2-3 times a day.

Also that H. Acuminatus and H. Diphreutes look EXTREMELY similar but there are a few slight differences that can differentiate between them, such as the coloring on the anal fin, the number of dorsal spines, and the shape of it's mouth.

H. Singularius is probably the easiest to identify, if it looks like a Bannerfish but has a FULL black head mask encircling it's snout, it's a Singular.

They're beautiful fish, sociable, very graceful and fun to watch. Mine stays front and center in the tank and likes following the Foxface everywhere he goes.

They're not a hard fish to keep, IME, peaceful, and they don't have a super large tank requirement.

Just make sure you get the right one! The difference between one extra dorsal spine can mean the loss of all your corals. H. Acuminatus will DESTROY your colonies.

I would suggest doing a significant amount of research on identification before going to your LFS. Take printed pictures of the two species with you and get a positive ID before you take him home. Ask your LFS if they know the full latin name of the fish and then double check it. More often than not, you're going to be looking at the non-reef safe variety.

Good luck!
 
alright well the order sheet said H. Singularius and hes been doing alright BUT he has taken a liking to the rock with my mushrooms... >_> he was in a whole tank full of them and didn't seem to care about them, stick him in my tank whats he do? goes straight for them!

So far hes jsut nipped at them and then swam around them but i'm gonna keep a close eye on him... he also seems to enjoy swimming into the feather dusters and making them go in, then he swims in a circle as if they wre tickling him teehee


hes super cute though :) I'll post pics tomorrow when the lights come on!
 
Last edited:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxhtGIyvJ90]YouTube - Bannerfish[/ame]

theres a video of him! :D apparently my fam took a vid while i was out lol
 
Well, if thats the right species im happy, looks the same as the one I wanted at my LFS so im going to pick him up during the week. Congratulations :)
 
LOL well lemme wait a few days and see how he does with the mushies! I don't want him to eat them and then have you go out and get one! LOL that would be horrible :(

so far he seems pretty good... although, they always are the first day *shifty eyes*
 
hahaha, very true, thanks sharkie ;)

If found my fish behave bad on the first day then calm down. I put the foxface in and he got into a fight with the clowns straight away! now there all good :)
 
The only problem I see is that none of them are truely reef safe. When you have to keep them well fed to keep them off your corals they are not reef safe. Eventually they will take the plunge. Then you`ll need to tear the tank down to get him out. I personally would not take the risk.
 
Well, to have a nice looking tank you need to take a risk sometimes ^^ and these are awesome looking fish, my flame angel is also with caution but is quite happy so far and hasnt touched my corals :)
 
Jmck said:
Well, to have a nice looking tank you need to take a risk sometimes ^^ and these are awesome looking fish, my flame angel is also with caution but is quite happy so far and hasnt touched my corals :)
Click to expand...

Sorry I cant go along with that. You do not have to take risk to have a nice tank. I know many folks that have nice tanks that dont take risks. Many yrs back I had 2 dwarf angels in my reef. They were perfect citizens for 4 yrs but then all of a sudden they started to eat my corals. Killed a few of them and then I had to tear the whole tank down. I didnt know about them then but I know now. The vision of tearing that tank down keeps me from taking any more risks esp. when I know better.
 
Sharkie said:
alright well the order sheet said H. Singularius and hes been doing alright BUT he has taken a liking to the rock with my mushrooms... >_> he was in a whole tank full of them and didn't seem to care about them, stick him in my tank whats he do? goes straight for them!

So far hes jsut nipped at them and then swam around them but i'm gonna keep a close eye on him... he also seems to enjoy swimming into the feather dusters and making them go in, then he swims in a circle as if they wre tickling him teehee


hes super cute though :) I'll post pics tomorrow when the lights come on!
Click to expand...



Say bye bye to those feather dusters by the way. Bannerfish lunch.
 
well day 2 of reporting on him and he seems to not have any more care or worries for my feather duster or mushrooms :) he swims right past them and doesn't even look at em! :D I've been feeding him a bit here and there to see when the best time to feed him is :) heres to hoping he won't be a coral muncher!

I kinda am a risk taker, i've learned everything is a 50/50 and if you don't do nothing you don't learn anything, so i'm gonna be a risk taker and learn some stuff :) if it comes down to it being bad, well hes pretty net friendly :) or I can move the coral to my sisters tank :)
 

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