Ornate Butterflyfish

The Ornate Butterflyfish is widely considered one of the most beautiful members of the butterflyfish family, featuring a stunning pattern of diagonal orange stripes set against a pearlescent white body. These vivid stripes run at precise angles across the flanks, creating an almost painterly effect. The face is marked with alternating orange and white bands, and a dark eye bar helps conceal the eye. This extraordinary coloration makes it one of the most photographed and admired reef fish in the world.

Despite its breathtaking beauty, Chaetodon ornatissimus is rated as an expert-only species due to its status as an obligate corallivore. In the wild, it feeds almost exclusively on the polyps and mucus of Pocillopora corals, and this extreme dietary specialization makes captive maintenance extremely challenging. Most specimens refuse all substitute foods, and long-term survival in aquariums is rare without access to live coral or extraordinary patience in weaning.

The Ornate Butterflyfish is peaceful toward other fish and can coexist with a wide variety of non-aggressive tankmates. It is absolutely not reef-safe, as it will consume corals. This species is best suited for expert aquarists with large, well-established fish-only systems who are prepared for the significant challenge of meeting its dietary needs. When successful, it is one of the most rewarding and visually spectacular fish in the marine aquarium hobby.