copperband butterfly food?

[rogerrgr]

I have recently purchased a copperband butterfly that was eating frozen brine at the LFS. It is eating small amounts of frozen mysis in my tank. It picks all over the live rock all day. I have about 140lbs of that. I read that the frozen brine has no nutritional value, but does the vitamin enriched one, or the frozen hatched baby brine? He already seems to like the brine, but was worried about the nutrition..

 

[stubby 58]

I had one it would only eat live blackworms not bloodworms . It finally died I don't think the blackworms was enough . They are picky eaters and usually do not last that long in captivity .

stubby

 

[64Ivy]

I'd start it off with live blackworms, augmented with clams, oysters, and/or mussels minced on the half shell. After a few weeks, I'd try weaning it over to PE Mysis. All of this, of course, is to be done in quarantine.

 

[rogerrgr]

Thank you for the advice, I'll try that, but what is "PE" mysis? Is it different than frozen mysis? And where can you buy live blackworms?

 

[falconut]

I've had mine for a little over 6 months. She was eatting live blackworms at the LFS. When I brought her home she started eatting frozen mysis and brine right away. I had stopped feeding the brine and just feed her frozen mysis and hand feed her live blackworms. I recently started feeding Mega Marine Angel and she seams to be eatting it too. Mine also does graze the rocks. If your CBB isn't eatting the mysis with gusto, but is eatting the brine with gusto. I would just keep feeding a mix of both and make sure it stays fat. Hopefully, it will start eatting the mysis better. Plus, I definitely think the blackworms help.

 

[rogerrgr]

Thank you, I'm definately going to mix!

 

[jhentr]

Mines ate black worms at the store with gusto. At home it would eat frozen blood worms, frozen mysis, freeze dried mysis, but never touch pellets and flakes.

I dose vitachem and selcon on the freeze dried mysis before feeding it.

 

[crsandoval]

So far mine is eating mysis and is picking at the rock all day, but I have no mandarins or wrasses so I assume its working on the pods in the tank.

 

[64Ivy]

Thank you for the advice, I'll try that, but what is "PE" mysis? Is it different than frozen mysis? And where can you buy live blackworms?

PE mysis are frozen freshwater mysis shrimp from Piscene Energetics. Very high protein content compared to others.

http://www.mysis.com/

And for REAL blackworms:

http://aquaticfoods.com/Blackworms.html

 

[rogerrgr]

Thank you! Boy shipping is getting expensive! I will check with some of the LFS and see if they cary any black worms. Last time I was there I asked for frozen mysis, and they brought out a bag of frozen baby mice!

 

[64Ivy]

Thank you! Boy shipping is getting expensive! I will check with some of the LFS and see if they cary any black worms. Last time I was there I asked for frozen mysis, and they brought out a bag of frozen baby mice!

Ah. Then I'd be leery about what they'd try to pass off as blackworms then. Real blackworms is what you want here; not bloodworms, not tubifex, not earthworms. This makes a huge difference when you're trying to get a butterfly to start eating.

 

[lostintheocean]

when I got mine it ate frozen at the store but stopped when I took it home. a few weeks in qt I got it eating mysys. PE mysis it only ate this (and all my aptisia and tube worms) for 3 or so months. i went on vacation for 10 days, the tank was fed 4 times. When I came back he was eating PE mysys, bloodworms, adn a slurry with mixed seafood.

I would feed PE mysis, lots of protein in there and dose with vita chem and selcon. Keep offering other foods as well and maybe he will get a more robust pallet.

 

[rogerrgr]

Thank you, he has been eating the mysis well and I also have been mixing it with rods food and ate some of that also today. He really went after it too, no shyness about it..