Picture of the Week, Foureyed Butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus)

Pictured in the latest AquaNerd Picture of the Week is a Foureyed Butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus) spotted at the Rising Tide Conservation aquarium in the Boyd Enterprises booth at MACNA 2012. This species is somewhat popular in the aquarium trade, despite its specific and hard to recreate diet. Because it finds its way into the aquariums of hobbyists across the US and is readily found in local waters, it was selected by the Rising Tide Conservation group to raise in captivity from wild-caught juveniles. There has been tremendous success with this fish species from that standpoint, though captive breeding is a much larger hurdle to get over. Fortunately, the aquarium industry’s greatest minds are working hard studying this butterflyfish.