CBB questions after skimming the primer

[celamb89]

Hi everyone,

So i've skimmed through the CBB primer and still have a couple of questions regarding the feeding..

I currently have a CBB in my 125gal mixed reef, he is doing well and pretty much finished with my aipstasia problem :dance:

Other fishes:
Orangeshoulder tang
blue line rabbitfish
Ocellaris
mandarin
niger trigger
watchmen goby
cleaner shrimp
pistol shrimp
softies, LPS, SPS, clams

Now that the aipstasia is gone, I dont know how to train him in the DT, I read people train them while in QT but how do u do it in an open space? Anyway I have a fuge with chaeto and LR that sustains the copepod population for the mandarin, I think the CBB is eating some since he is picking at the LR even without aispstasia...

In my fuge i have some aispstasia on the LR, so about once a week I pull one out and he cleans it as soon as i drop it in, but it worries me that this will not sustain him... What else should I feed him? how do I train him? Will he sustain on copepods? tips, advice, experiences?

Thanks for the input!

 

[MrTuskfish]

Like you said; its much easier to get these finicky fish eating in a QT. Many CBBs won't eat aptasia. This is all info you should have before buying a fish.

What do you want to train the CBB to do? They are carnivores and will eat most foods (mysis, enriched brine good pellets, bits of raw shrimp, etc.); if they aren't picked on. BTW, Niger Triggers are fast growing fish and will be eating your shrimp and smaller fish soon. I would not keep an adult Niger with a CBB; the CBB needs peace & quiet and can't stand bullies or even aggressive fish. Triggers have a way of picking out wussy fish.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Like you said; its much easier to get these finicky fish eating in a QT. Many CBBs won't eat aptasia. This is all info you should have before buying a fish.

What do you want to train the CBB to do? They are carnivores and will eat most foods (mysis, enriched brine good pellets, bits of raw shrimp, etc.); if they aren't picked on. BTW, Niger Triggers are fast growing fish and will be eating your shrimp and smaller fish soon. I would not keep an adult Niger with a CBB; the CBB needs peace & quiet and can't stand bullies or even aggressive fish. Triggers have a way of picking out wussy fish.

 

[celamb89]

ok, Thanks... I'll try to offer bits of raw shrimp, brine shrimp, maybe bloodworms?... For the moment nobody is picking or harassing the CBB, the orangeshoulder is the king of the tank and the niger is small (1.5")... Hopefully in the next 1.5 or 2 years I'll have a new tank Im planning... 220gal reef cube and more space between the CBB and niger...

My question remains if he will feed of copepods?


thanks for the reply!

 

[celamb89]

double post:beer:

 

[SDguy]

I'd be concerned that the CBB will just not do well long term as the orangeshoulder, niger, and rabbitfish grow in a 125g tank.

I'd offer minced slices of scallop, shrimp and clam. Clam on the shell is also a great way to go.

 

[celamb89]

I'll give clam on the shell a try, sounds like something I can leave for it to eat later when he wants....

Like I said, I started planning and saving some cash for a 230gal reef cube... Have to save money for the vortechs (1xMP60 & 1xMP40) and an acrylic rimless tank, tank dimensions in mind: 1.2 x 1.2 x 0.6 (meters)...

 

[rwsunrx]

I've had a CBB for about 2 years. It's happy and healthy. I tried clams on the shell but he was never interested. For me the real key was offering him Live Black Worms! He just couldn't resist their movements when they first hit the water. He now knows that he will get fed when I approach the top of the tank and gets excited just a dog waiting to be fed.

After feeding live black worms for about a year, my local source was out of stock for several days and he wasn't interested in frozen mysis so I tried frozen bloodworms. And the liked them. Try to find some live black worms. And good luck.

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

I would feed live blackworms, chopped scallop and shrimp fresh from your grocery store, and Hikari and PE mysis (some fish like one, some like the other and sometimes a single fish will switch back and forth). Given the competition from the other fish, I think your best bet is going to be live blackworms. You can also try spirulina brine and, as a last resort to start it eating, live brine shrimp.

Given that the fish has settled into your tank and is eating, it should be healthy enough to eat the foods listed.

 

[rssjsb]

Black worms are a great food for finicky butterflies. Bloodworms are not really a great thing to feed, IMO. They're not really worms, but insect larvae with endoskeletons and are hard on the fish's digestive system.

I would try mysis and the other small chopped meaty seafoods others have suggested. I think it's fine to use brine if it will get the fish interested in eating from the water column, but I would try to shift him to mysis quickly. Brine is like popcorn - good to get them eating, but not a good food to rely on.

Also, I'll echo what others have said about the trigger - the odds are against this working out well for your other fish over the long term. It's not going to matter much what size your eventual tank is. These fish just don't like others in their territory once they reach maturity.