Aiptasisa and Copperband Butterfly

[smsadmin]

I think I have finally have a CBB that is going to survive. I tried one a couple years ago and had it eating live clams that I was buying from Publix, but he still only lived a few days after his introduction. I know have one eating frozen Mysis and it has been in my display for almost three weeks now so I think he is going to make it. Yellow tang bullied him for a couple days, but nobody seems to have picked on him since.

Are there any tips or tricks to get it to start chowing down on my aiptasia? He is constantly picking at the rocks, but never seems to go after what I REALLY want him to eat!

I put a couple molly millers in a couple weeks ago but haven't seen them since so don't know if they are still around. I have a Marine Beta too so peppermints are out.

Aiptasia-x just never seems to work for me. Any other ideas?



Current tank is 96"X24"X24". 1 yellow tang, 1 blue tang, 1 naso tang, 1 kole tang, 10 blue/green chromis, 3 lyretail anthias, 1 female leopard wrasse, 2 clowns, 1 royal gramma, 1 marine beta.

 

[davocean]

He is probably picking at the smaller apts first that you may not see, that or small feathers.
I found that while apt X does not really kill apt, it can get a CBB started.
Hit the apt w/ the X with pumps off, let it sit for a few minutes, then turn pumps back on.
While it does not kill the apt completely, it melts it enough to make it easy for your CBB to start eating it.
After a while your CBB should take to the rest, or this is what mine did anyway.

 

[breederforlife]

BTW not all copperband butterfly fish eat apts, ive seen some in a tank with apts for months and it didn't touch one.

 

[snorvich]

BTW not all copperband butterfly fish eat apts, ive seen some in a tank with apts for months and it didn't touch one.

Unfortunately true. There are some butterfly fish that always do eat aiptasia, but they are not reef safe.

 

[jason_bradbury]

i had a BAD problem with APT, when i first started to see them pop up i thought "cool, something that i dont have to buy".. before i knew it there were hundreds. tried APT X with not much success.. bought some pepermint shrimp , dropped 1 in my fuge and the rest in the DT.. the 1 in the fuge ate all APT in 1 day and havent seen APT ever again in fuge.. dont know what happened to shimp in DT .. i think my fish ate them.. bought a file fish.. didnt eat 1 APT.. bought a CBB.. no more APT and im concerned about him starving and i too buy little neck clams , crack 1 open and drop 1 in every 2-3 days.

 

[rwells576]

Cbb

Cbb

I have had my CBB for four years he or she loves Rod's Food Original Blend Frozen Reef Food

 

[smsadmin]

Thanks guys, I will try aiptasia x again. Wish me luck!

 

[davocean]

Our local club passes around a couple matted file fish, and they do a great job on apt, just something to think about.
We don't keep them because once they run out of aptasia they can go after softies.
Aptasia X alone usually does not kill aptasia, it looks like it does, but they often pop back up in bigger numbers, but it can weaken and soften tissue enough to encourage apt eaters to go after them.
Australian variety of CBB's seem to be best at apt removal, but again the issues that comes w/ keeping them and getting lucky that they eat other foods.
Peps are an option, not my fav.
Matted files seem to really go at apt

 

[cdavis179]

IME Racoon butterflies are more consistent in aiptasia removal... Unfortunately they also eat just about anything with any sort of tentacles...