Spotband Butterfly – Chaetodon punctatofasciatus – Small/Medium

The Spotband Butterflyfish (Chaetodon punctatofasciatus) is yellow and white, with vertical grey spots that fade into bands as they reach the dorsal half of the fish. The base of the tail is orange, and the dorsal, anal, and caudal are all trimmed in white. An orange stripe passes through the eye. It is very similar to the Dot-dash Butterfly (C. pelewensis), which has diagonal bands instead of vertical, but the Dot-Dash Butterfly is much more delicate than the Spotband.

Butterflyfish consist of a large number of fish found in the aquarium trade from the Chaetodon, Chelmon, Forcipiger, and Heniochus genuses, among others from the family Chaetodontidae. The family ranges in length from 3 inches up to close to 12 inches in length. Butterflies are usually roughly oval in body shape but longer fins make some appear elliptical or diamond-shaped. They resemble and are sometimes confused with angelfish (family Pomacentridae) but angelfish have a cheekspine that is not found in butterflies.

Butterflies are generally community fish in nature. Though some more pugnatious species may terrorize smaller or more docile fish, most can be kept with a wide range of community tankmates. Most butterfly species are not \