cb butterfly picking open brain

[FishyMel]

I got a cb a week ago and he acclimated fast and ate all my aiptasia without picking at the coral. Yesterday I fed my large open brain 4 krill and today I've caught my cb pecking it a couple times. It makes my brain mad and shrink but doesn't leave any visible damage. I'm guesing my brain just smells good right now and once the krill is out of the brains system the cb will stop pecking. I am not sure though, will the cb eat the brain? Will he have a taste for the brain now or is he just expecting the brain to taste like krill and he stop pecking when the brain is done eating? Once again I see no visible damage. Please help.

 

[rydr119]

Its hit or miss with these guys. Some are coral pickers and some aren't. Does this fish eat prepared foods otherwise? If not this could be what he's intending on eating. If it does then maybe it is just trying to get the krill from the coral. Either way if it were mine I would catch it out of there.

 

[FishyMel]

He eats krill, mysis, and rodifers(sp?) readily. I got him eating in one day and he was direct from the ocean not a trade-in. Only yesterday, the day after I fed the brain and now the brain was excreting the byproducts, have I ever seen my cb peck my brain he hasn't pecked any other coral besides the krill eater so hopefully the brain just smells like krill, but I want some verification.

the other corals which he hasn't tried are
dragon and eagle eye zoas
unidentified orange and green zoas
purple and yellow palys
huge nuclear green palys
maze brain
orange and blue rhodactis
hairy mushroom
frilly mushroom
discus mushroom

 

[cthetoy]

Sorry to say but an open brain is a frequent target for butterfiles and angels. You can try to put your open brain in a upside down strawberry basket for a few days to prevent your coppperband from attacking it and take it off later.

 

[mrwilson]

Too bad about the brain (although I think you're right to hold out hope that once the krilliness is out of it, the CBB could leave it alone), but on the bright side, that's great that you found a CBB to eat prepared foods so readily.

 

[petsarenice]

That's the gamble with butterflies, even the ones that are "reef safe". I would probably get him out unless you want to go all fish.

 

[Chibils]

Fleshy corals like brains are often the first target, but that doesn't mean he wants to eat it. There are many cases of people who get rid of butterflies, angels, tangs, etc. that are picking at microorganisms or mucus on the corals without harming the corals themselves. Give it more time; if you start to see any damage, then pull him.