Fish Profile - Chelmon Muelleri

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Mueller's Butterflyfish, Chelmon muelleri

I once read an article that referred to it as the Copperband's, Chelmon rostratus, 'ugly stepsister'...  Now maybe it's me, but with its burnt orange stripes alternating on a mother-of pearl background, I'm already sold on the Mueller's in terms of asthetic appeal. But add the electric blue and yellow specklings within its fins and flanks, its foreshortened snout, amusing personality, and refreshing hardiness and it's absolutely no contest.

Anyway, as I'm sure you know, these fish are endemic to Australia. Now while some would cite this as a reason for their hardiness, I tend to give credit to the country's superior capture and shipping techniques rather than to anything inherent in the animal itself. Still, they are not exported very often and when they DO turn up, they usually command a pretty high price.

While I've never had a real problem getting Mueller's to eat, even during acclimation, I'd always start them with clams, oysters, or mussels on the half-shell. Nowadays, I use live California blackworms, which they simply cannot resist. My Mueller's also loves Mysis soaked in Selcon and I usually feed twice a day. I've heard they will take out your feather dusters, zoas, and pick on clams but since I do not maintain any of the three in my display tank, I cannot comment on that with any first hand knowledge. I DO know this however, given the chance they will simply decimate Aiptasia! You can even train them to do this in QT (quarantine) by providing an Aiptasia covered live rock, 'starving' the fish for a day, then feeding the ANEMONIES a bit of mysis (or whatever the fish has grown to like)! In many cases, the butterfly will quickly grow weary of watching the Aiptasia eat its dinner and take appropriate action. If you run into a stubborn one, you may have to do this more than once but sooner or later, they learn to associate the pests with food thievery and then as food themselves. My first Mueller's (I've had two myself and acclimated a third for a friend) even took out my Majanoes after this method.

They are the only butterflies I've kept in a reeftank so I also cannot comment on how they would get along with other butterflies. My duo of Purple Tang and Striatus Bristletooth usually comprise the welcoming committee in my current tank but so far the Mueller's has more than held it own against them both. This, by the way, is why I strongly recommend these fish be QT'd before introduction to the display tank. Not that they're any more prone to disease than other fish, but simply to build up their strength. When I first added my current Mueller's, the tangs kept it pinned in a corner for nearly a week. Unless it picked at the live rock after lights out, I never saw it eat during all that time. Obviously, the tangs gradually lost interest and accepted the fish into the group but I doubt it would've survived that first week at all had I not given it the time to build up its reserves in QT.

It probably goes without saying this is probably my favorite fish in the tank. In addition to earning its keep, its personality, smarts (it will literally 'follow' me back and forth the length of the tank at feeding time while paying no one else any attention whatsoever), and penchant for entertainment (see, head-on portrait shot) can almost make it a one man show in any suitably sized tank. It's not easy to find one, but if you do, do NOT hesitate for a second.

-Michael G. Moye