Copperand butterfly fish

ThisCityIsDead

ThisCityIsDead

New member
How compatible are these fish with corals? I've seen them in reef tanks, but only the copperbands not other species of butterfly fish. Are these just hit and miss, or are they like my toby puffer that if kept well fed, it won't bother the corals. (I know that the puffer probably doesn't go for corals intentionally, but it can because it files its tooth)
 
Didn't care about inverts. I couldn't keep him eating. He showed no interest in flakes or pellets or formula 1. He liked mysis, but couldn't compete with the tangs and wrasses. I could spot feed him for a while with a baster, but soon the tangs got wise and even that stopped working. He was just too slow to get to the food. He was getting thinner and thinner, and I gave him to another reefer with a much bigger tank and more live rock to pick it.

I got him to help with aiptasia, and boy did he do that....
 
9701124 said:
Didn't care about inverts. I couldn't keep him eating. He showed no interest in flakes or pellets or formula 1. He liked mysis, but couldn't compete with the tangs and wrasses. I could spot feed him for a while with a baster, but soon the tangs got wise and even that stopped working. He was just too slow to get to the food. He was getting thinner and thinner, and I gave him to another reefer with a much bigger tank and more live rock to pick it.

I got him to help with aiptasia, and boy did he do that....
Click to expand...


I have two tangs and a trigger... The trigger has picked on the turkey baster feedings. I tend to squirt some on the side so the other fish can eat while the trigger is distracted. I wonder if they would it octopus/squid/shrimp rubberbanned to a rock, or seaweed.
 
It didn't work out well for me. I've read they really thrive when there is lots to eat off live rock. People have had success with live black worms too.
 
9701124 said:
It didn't work out well for me. I've read they really thrive when there is lots to eat off live rock. People have had success with live black worms too.
Click to expand...


That worries me. I'll ask my LFS and see how they care for it. I know they've had it for about a month now.
 
Mine doesn't touch my corals and has a healthy appetite. IMO live black worms are a must to keep these fish healthy and alive long term.
 
My experience:

+ The Australian endemic is more likely to eat aiptasia
+ CBB may or may not eat in captivity
+ CBB are not clam safe
+ CBB do best in larger tanks with peaceful tank mates
+ CBB may or may not be coral safe
+ CBB are copepod eaters
+ CBB (the ones that eat at all) love live blackworms
 
snorvich said:
My experience:

+ The Australian endemic is more likely to eat aiptasia
+ CBB may or may not eat in captivity
+ CBB are not clam safe
+ CBB do best in larger tanks with peaceful tank mates
+ CBB may or may not be coral safe
+ CBB are copepod eaters
+ CBB (the ones that eat at all) love live blackworms
Click to expand...


I don't have aiptasia. I have nems though. I have a mellow yellow tang and a powder blue that can be territorial but only acts this way with my piccaso trigger. He Picasso trigger is also mellow. Does not care when the powder blue kicks it out of its cave.
 
ThisCityIsDead said:
I don't have aiptasia. I have nems though. I have a mellow yellow tang and a powder blue that can be territorial but only acts this way with my piccaso trigger. He Picasso trigger is also mellow. Does not care when the powder blue kicks it out of its cave.
Click to expand...

You definitely do not have peaceful tank mates. Your tank is also not mature and full of copepods.
 
9701124 said:
My experience was it was perfectly compatible with corals, not so much with food.
Click to expand...

We had one for 9 weeks in QT, ate first day...

Ate with a crazy appetite in QT the whole time, was with 5 Huchtii Anthias.

As soon as we put him in our display he was harassed by the tangs (Black, Chevron, Yellow and Yellow Bellied Blue).

Never got beat up, just had the tangs flare at him. Needless to say, he stopped eating. After a few days of staying in the tank corners I moved him to our frag tank. He died a few days later. I think something just snapped...

I didn't use an acclimation box, which I think might (MIGHT) have helped.

Not sure if I want to try other... maybe with more fish in the tank and a larger CBB. I'm not sure, was pretty upset about it. Really came to love the fish while in QT... :(

So yeah... not too hard to get to eat (ours at least), but you MUST have very peaceful tank mates...
 
No, they will not live on copepods. They should be fed meaty foods such as clams. In the 40 years I have been keeping them I only say one eat pellets as that is not the proper food for a butterfly (or any fish) Live blackworms are the favorite food and they can eat plenty of them. Clams are the second best food and I also have live clams in my tank that none of my copperbands ever touched.

 
Paul B said:
No, they will not live on copepods. They should be fed meaty foods such as clams. In the 40 years I have been keeping them I only say one eat pellets as that is not the proper food for a butterfly (or any fish) Live blackworms are the favorite food and they can eat plenty of them. Clams are the second best food and I also have live clams in my tank that none of my copperbands ever touched.
Click to expand...

Forgot to add...

Ours really only ate Brine. It would pick at Mysis, but really didn't seem to like it. Also seemed to get some of the stuff in Rod's foods.
 
Thanks everyone!! The fish at the LFS is bigger than my yellow rang. Really, the only fish that would bully will be the powder blue. It used to bully my yellow yang, but stopped. Had not bullied in weeks. It never bit or nipped or chased, only blocked from swimming near its cave.
 
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