🐠 Vagabond Butterflyfish (Chaetodon vagabundus)
A Pearly White Body With Crisscrossing Diagonal Lines • Yellow Fins With Black Banding • One of the Hardier, More Adaptable Butterflyfish
 
📋 The Vagabond Butterflyfish, also known as the Crisscross Butterflyfish, has an eye-catching pattern: a pearly white body crossed by two sets of opposing diagonal dark lines forming a distinctive crisscross effect, a bold black band through the eye, and yellow dorsal, anal, and tail fins each marked with black bands.
It comes from a vast range across the Indo-Pacific, from East Africa to the Line and Gambier Islands, north to Japan, and south to New South Wales, inhabiting lagoon patch reefs, reef flats, and fore-reef slopes at depths from 1 to 30 metres. Every Vagabond Butterflyfish we ship is feeding well.
It's one of the hardier, more adaptable butterflyfish, and there's a welcome bonus on top: this species is well documented to eat Aiptasia (glass anemones), a nice upside in a fish-only setup, though it's inconsistent between individuals. It's not reef safe, and its natural diet includes coral polyps, worms, sponges, and small invertebrates. It can be shy at first, benefiting from multiple hiding places during acclimation, and while generally peaceful toward unrelated fish, it can be territorial toward its own kind unless introduced as a pair. It reaches up to 23cm, so plan on at least 285L.
 
💡 Highlights
🎨 Crisscrossing Diagonal Lines: A distinctive pattern, unlike straighter-banded relatives
💪 One of the Hardier Butterflyfish: Adapts well and accepts most foods
🦐 A Possible Aiptasia Eater: A well-documented, though inconsistent, bonus
🪸 Not Reef Safe: Will nip at coral polyps and other invertebrates
🍽️ Ships Feeding Well: A confident eater once settled