Copperband Butterfly Primer

My first try with a CBB. I bought him yesterday. He was picking on the live rock at the store and looked healthy. Got him home and acclimated him and he went behind the live rock and started picking on it. He slept next to the live rock in the front of the tank.Today I have Yellow Tang and Fox face keeping him on the surface of the water and won't let him go down to the reef. Pryed out one of my Wifes cosmetic case mirrors and taped it to the side of the tank. Aggresion is going down and he is trying to go to the reef. The Yellow tang and Fox Face are large and he is medium size. So far the CBB is scared but not damaged. I saw the Tang try to get it with its tail scalpel. I tried feeding it some Cyclopeze and Marine Cuisine but no luck. I don't see why Tangs would be competitors since the CBB does not graze. I know my tank is a little small but have had luck with a Mandarin and Goldenhead sleeper that I added. Tank was purchased 2 years ago and was established for several years. Plenty of mysids and amphipods.
 
The tang fighting with the CBB is nothing new. It has been said before in this thread about fighting my accrue in small tanks. About them fighting is nothing to do about food its all about body shape. Yellow tangs and CBB are close with body shape so fighting will accrue just like if you try to mix alot of tangs with the same body shape without having a huge tank. As far as him eating you should of had them feed him at the LFS before you bought it. This is a harder fish to get to eat prepaired foods. cyclopeze is probly to small for him to get interested in eating it. Try PE myiss and if he or something larger like this and see if he goes after it. If no interst in prepared foods try live feeders (black worms talked about in this thread or live brine)

Crustman said:
My first try with a CBB. I bought him yesterday. He was picking on the live rock at the store and looked healthy. Got him home and acclimated him and he went behind the live rock and started picking on it. He slept next to the live rock in the front of the tank.Today I have Yellow Tang and Fox face keeping him on the surface of the water and won't let him go down to the reef. Pryed out one of my Wifes cosmetic case mirrors and taped it to the side of the tank. Aggresion is going down and he is trying to go to the reef. The Yellow tang and Fox Face are large and he is medium size. So far the CBB is scared but not damaged. I saw the Tang try to get it with its tail scalpel. I tried feeding it some Cyclopeze and Marine Cuisine but no luck. I don't see why Tangs would be competitors since the CBB does not graze. I know my tank is a little small but have had luck with a Mandarin and Goldenhead sleeper that I added. Tank was purchased 2 years ago and was established for several years. Plenty of mysids and amphipods.
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Thanks, a bit of good luck. CBB will eat mysis from a frozen cube and will even take it from the surface. Tang aggression problems unresolved but he is allowed to go down to the rocks in the evening while the tang is resting. He is picking at the live sand now so things are looking up. Thanks for all your advice. He is smart enough to look for food at the Maxijet intake strainers so he is picking here also. Amazing fish!
 
Well day 4 and my fish is still beautiful, still alive and eating live blackworms. He does pick on the liverock and seems interested in the goings-on in the tank. I quit stressing about him last night and figured it was time to observe him, feed him all the worms he will consume and enjoy him. Soon enough or never perhaps, he will start eating other items but I can't make him eat them. So basically I'm enjoying his presence in my tank and still awed by what a beautiful fish it is.
 
Great CarlosR, mine is eating Marine Cuisine and is almost part of the gang. Just moves a little when the Foxface comes. No problem with the Coral Beauty and clarkii clown. Plays a game with the Yellow Tang. Tang bolts after him and then he goes behind the inflow nozil. Comes back down to the reef immediately when the Tang turns. Taking pics now. CBB is good at cleaning the reef of uneaten food. I will buy a metal loose tea holder today and drill bigger holes in it for a feeding station for the CBB. I can take it out so it won't rust.
 
Are you a little concerned about a metal container in your tank? Maybe it's such a small amount but corrosion would make me use plastic. I heated my soldering iron and made holes in an old pill container. Only problem is it doesn't sink too well.
 
I don't know if it would rust. I don't seem to have a problem now with him eating. He will eat large PE mysis that I bought today. I can give him this twice a day. Might not even need a feeding station.
 
Hi Tom, today I dispensed with the feeding container too. My Cbb is eating heartily on live blackworms and tonite accidentally or out of curiosity ate a bit of frozen food. He has even followed a flake around. So I'm letting him pig out on worms in the hopes that his curiosity leads him to other things, including aptaisia!

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I have never seen blackworms here in a pet store. I am lucky my fish will eat mysis, PE Mysis and marine cuisine. I'm sure it will eat brine shrimp also because these are in Marine Cuisine.
 
Never used a feeder, it would pick at the mysis from the beginning, but would spit it out. Over time I guess it got used to eating it and now has no problems with it. Initially it had more trouble with PE mysis being larger (fish is 3-4") so I started with something smaller, but now is just fine with the PE. I've still been feeding some other things as well such as blackworms (when I am out near where I can get em) and enriched frozen brine as well as some Rod's food (not sure exactly what parts it is eating, but I do see it picking at it).
 
Ah good then I will just wait for him to discover things for himself. It really is fascinating adapting this fish to captivity. Hoping for the best.
 
jay02483 said:
got a cbb 2day...already eatting frozen mysis shrimp 3 hours after i got him...thats a good sign right?
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I would say that's a great sign! Congratulations. Mine is still only eating live worms but he does spend a good deal of time investigating the live rock and poking his schnoz into everything. He enjoys swimming quickly across the tank, I think he is reacting to his reflection in one part of the tank. Also, and this is intriguing, he is swimming up to the cleaner shrimp and inviting a cleaning. He does have some ich. I think I'm getting a neon goby tomorrow to help with that.
 
If you think he has ich, run UV if you can. Very fine micron filtration will take out the infective tomites. It may not be ich though; I think CBB's are prone to lymphocystis. I see a few spots on the fins of mine and will watch them carefully.
 
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