Fascinating reading all
Read all the above with great interest
Likewise I have one now in a 5' Holding tank ,awaiting the completion of my new system.
Have had it for 5 Months and , for some strange reason , I have really grown attached to it. OK I know its a fish and this is a one way relationship

, but it just has the behavioural edge over the other inhabitants, though my Z.Flavescens & Xanthhurum are up there too.
Just the way it is so bold, I have even had to VERY gently brushed it aside as it tries to muscle in when im target feeding my Plerogyra Sin.
Nathan
I don't think this is killing the snails as I've still got a good population of them, but that has to hurt!
LOL

Mine does the same, and I always think the same when I see it ...Yeooowww, bet he felt that !
And as stated above the way it follows you up and down the tank, and comes right up against the glass.
Not to mention the BEAUTIFULL colouration and shape.
Though ( and I know it has been said above, just to reiterate )
If buying one
ensure the following
1.It is actively feeding visibly in your LFS before you purchase it.
2.Your system is such to provide it with optimum water conditions and non agressive tankmates ( adding to an established tank containing YellowT/Zeb.Flavescens can be a problem , leading to the C.Band being harrassed to death/to ill health )
3.Check in detail for any signs of illness, flashing/rubbing off rocks, loss of colour.
4.Check carefully their beak/snout area for damage , which they can be susceptible too from transportation, if evident do not buy , as this can lead to non feeding and their demise.
This is the second one I have had , the first wasted away, and never fed, due to my , well , stupidity , in not checking it was eating before purchasing it. It refused all manner of foods offered to it.
So sad to see it wasting away.
As said by a previous poster, for that reason I get such enjoyment out of watching the one I have now wolfing down food.
Other things I have noticed are that
1. They do take a while , even when bought actively feeding to settle in, and be able to get their fair share of food added. Especially so with specialist active water coloumn feeders such as Damsels, clowns, chromis etc.
We gotta remember that they more so than a lot of the other spp. we keep in our Aq's are used to picking their food from rockwork. Therefore take a while to adapt to our usual method of " dumping " a frozen blend of food into the swirling water coloumn. Hence I have found it very usefull to target feed with a turkey baster untill confident that he can " mix " it with the rest in feeding terms.
2.They are very active at our simulated Dawn/Dusk, and this is a good time to feed them, if they are having probs getting food during the normal photoperiod, due to competition.
3.They need feeding more than once a day.
Cheers
Brian.
