Copperband Butterfly Primer

[matt888]

I picked up a CBB today after researching online the past few months and reading this thread. He is in a 29g QT now, and will remain there for the next 5-6wks. He's about 3" to the end of the nose and I watched him eat frozen brine shrimp at the LFS before purchasing. 5 min after acclimating him into QT, I placed a frozen mysis chunk about the size of a pencil eraser and it was inhaled. A good start, but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed he stays healthy and continues to eat aggressively! If all goes well, he will go into my 210g next month.

 

[Mental1]

I've had my CBB for about 6 months. I have lots of tanks in my system and he's in a tank by himself in my basement that also has a huge deer cowrie, 2 cleaner shrimp ... And that's about it. Oh ... Lots of caulerpa too.

He was covered in flukes when I got him and infected my whole system. I freshwater dipped him twice. I treated the whole system - 400g, I think, 3 times with prozipro which was not fun. Corals were not happy - no skimming. Anyway, he kept twitching. I finally realized that he twitches his head like crazy when he sees me bring out out the black worms. It's his food dance. I feed him once a day with black worms and then 3 days a week he gets the food mix all of the fish get and black worms. He seems happy and healthy.

He doesn't seem interested in aipatsia at all as there's one in there alive and well. I was going to put him in my 180 to eat aiptasia buts he seems really happy where he is. It's only a 3 foot tank but it's 2 feet deep. I have a yellow, chevron and another bristletooth in the 180 so I think they would be hard on him. I think they just ganged up and murdered my rabbit as I found him dead a week ago after looking completely fine when I fed the day before. I have the tang mafia and now everything in the display seems peaceful. Hmmmm ....

 

[aandfsoccr04]

Added my copperband to the 120 gallon today and my atlantic blue tang is chasing him constantly. I put some eggcrate in to seperate them so hopefully he will settle down.

 

[Eldredge]

Head Twitching

Head Twitching

I've had my CBB for about 6 months. I have lots of tanks in my system and he's in a tank by himself in my basement that also has a huge deer cowrie, 2 cleaner shrimp ... And that's about it. Oh ... Lots of caulerpa too.

He was covered in flukes when I got him and infected my whole system. I freshwater dipped him twice. I treated the whole system - 400g, I think, 3 times with prozipro which was not fun. Corals were not happy - no skimming. Anyway, he kept twitching. I finally realized that he twitches his head like crazy when he sees me bring out out the black worms. It's his food dance. I feed him once a day with black worms and then 3 days a week he gets the food mix all of the fish get and black worms. He seems happy and healthy.

He doesn't seem interested in aipatsia at all as there's one in there alive and well. I was going to put him in my 180 to eat aiptasia buts he seems really happy where he is. It's only a 3 foot tank but it's 2 feet deep. I have a yellow, chevron and another bristletooth in the 180 so I think they would be hard on him. I think they just ganged up and murdered my rabbit as I found him dead a week ago after looking completely fine when I fed the day before. I have the tang mafia and now everything in the display seems peaceful. Hmmmm ....

I can confirm that this head twitching is not (always) from disease. I posted here many months ago about this behavior. I was very concerned, and some here felt that my fish was infected and probably wouldn't last long. The fact of the matter is that he does this when he sees food coming - just like yours. In fact, it resulted in him being named "Twitch". He is a great fish. I have never seen him eat an aptasia, but they all disappeared after his introduction.

 

[Nick S]

bump 11 years later? What's the latest care tips?

 

[Reddevil258]

My copperband loves whiteworms. Very easy to culture in mass quantities and wriggle around in saltwater for up to 3 hours for me so I think stimulate a strong feeding response. Blackworms die within minutes of hitting saltwater so unless they get eaten up fast, they stop wriggling and the copperband loses interest.

So how do you supply white worms?

 

[DrPat]

My copperband loves whiteworms. Very easy to culture in mass quantities and wriggle around in saltwater for up to 3 hours for me so I think stimulate a strong feeding response. Blackworms die within minutes of hitting saltwater so unless they get eaten up fast, they stop wriggling and the copperband loses interest.

He pretty much refuses everything else I have tried to feed, including fresh mussels, clams and oysters, frozen mysis, and brine shrimp.

Without the worms, I think my copperband would be long gone.

I have had great success with ccb as I think they are one of the best looking fish. I agree that they can be very difficult and many years ago the didnt live long at all. One day I walked into the lfs [ in Italy at that time] and the little old lady running the shop was feeding ccb baby black mollies and from that moment on my out look for ccb changed. THEY WHERE SUCKING THEM DOWN I WAS AMAZED that they actually got them through that long buccal cavity. The key to their success is to acclimate them and keep them in qt until they eat 2 or three different foods. Hikari blood worms are often preferred. Mine eat pe mysis ,bld worms, r.o.e. from reef nutrition ,clam and table shrimp. GUYS brine shrimp although a great first food has very little nutritional value for reef fish.

 

[DrPat]

yes they twitch at the sight of food

yes they twitch at the sight of food

I've had my CBB for about 6 months. I have lots of tanks in my system and he's in a tank by himself in my basement that also has a huge deer cowrie, 2 cleaner shrimp ... And that's about it. Oh ... Lots of caulerpa too.

He was covered in flukes when I got him and infected my whole system. I freshwater dipped him twice. I treated the whole system - 400g, I think, 3 times with prozipro which was not fun. Corals were not happy - no skimming. Anyway, he kept twitching. I finally realized that he twitches his head like crazy when he sees me bring out out the black worms. It's his food dance. I feed him once a day with black worms and then 3 days a week he gets the food mix all of the fish get and black worms. He seems happy and healthy.

He doesn't seem interested in aipatsia at all as there's one in there alive and well. I was going to put him in my 180 to eat aiptasia buts he seems really happy where he is. It's only a 3 foot tank but it's 2 feet deep. I have a yellow, chevron and another bristletooth in the 180 so I think they would be hard on him. I think they just ganged up and murdered my rabbit as I found him dead a week ago after looking completely fine when I fed the day before. I have the tang mafia and now everything in the display seems peaceful. Hmmmm ....

mine tap their nose on the glass when they see the food cup . they like to eat small apistsia rather than the large ones which racoons seem to devour
along with corals

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

racoons seem to devour
along with corals

which (specific) corals do your racoons devour?

short low budget feeding time vid of my aquarium

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[nsmith_mma]

Just introduced my cbb four days ago and already all of my aiptasia are gone along with all of the feather dusters that were in my tank. Wow is all I can say. He readily eats spirulina brine shrimp and has shown interest in pellets and mysis.

 

[MrClam]

Just curious if anyone has any updated thoughts on blackworms for CBB nutrition? I am trying to avoid keeping live blackworms long term, as rinsing them daily seems like a hassle. There are some online vendors (aquaticfoods) that sell frozen and freeze-dried blackworms. Does anyone have thoughts/experience with these as a nutritional alternative to live if I can train the CBB to eat them?

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

My cbb eats chopped seafood and mysis shrimp readily, plus IO gel food omnivore blend. It takes time, but you can wean them onto other foods. I now just feed blackworms for ~10 days every 2-4 months. My seafood mix is shrimp, scallop, clam, and salmon chopped and frozen, with slices peeled off each morning with a paring knife for feeding.

The frozen blackworms should be fine if your fish will take them. Live or frozen, I would want the cbb to eat more than blackworms. My cbb isn't as aggressive an eater as the other fish, so I start with something else the cbb won't eat anyway like flakes, and then add the foods it will eat a bit at a time so the cbb has time to get some.

 

[Paul B]

Mine eats eggs :crazy1:

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

okay

okay

please explain, Paul.


FWIW my CBB will eat ANYTHING meaty I toss into my aquarium HOWEVER (and much more importantly IMO) my CBB doesn't rely on me feeding it.

It relies on eating small critters in my aquarium.
The high biodiversity of critters in my aquarium is the result of using really LIVE liverock.

 

[Paul B]

please explain, Paul.

Either he wants to eat it, or he laid it. Ever hear of Chicken of the sea. Where do you think those sea chickens come from? :dance:

 

[SDguy]

Though I've had a marginalis and muelleri for a while now, I can finally say I'm part of the CBB club . I received an aussie specimen a few weeks ago. He's in QT and eats mysis and minced diver scallop, and of course live blackworms.

Oh, and a couple gratuitous pics of the other Chelmons

 

[aquaph8]

Awesome Peter, Love them all

 

[SDguy]

Thanks Brett... hopefully they'll love each other!

 

[klepto]

Just wanted to say thanks for this thread.

Paul, your advice about blackworms was especially helpful. I kept resisting them for no good reason. They prompt a great feeding response and I've quickly noticed some improvements in the health/coloration with all my fishes.

My copperband was quickly wasting away after not accepting any frozen foods. Thanks to the live blackworms it just might have a chance. I was about to give up on the worms after trying for days with no results. Now, long after the fish is totally accustomed to the tank and baster is it finally attacking them. I've resorted to shutting off my flow to let the fish eat as it struggles to compete for food in high flow. It is a small Philippine butterfly via LiveAquaria.

My fish mouthed some Hikari spirulina brine and tubifex worms, but wont eat any frozen reliably. It shows no interest in prawn roe, mysis (PE or Hikari).

Does anyone enrich the live blackworms? Or is that not necessary. And if so, with what products and concentrations?
Thanks.

 

[lilalove]

My CBB has taken to eating Nori when I rubberband it on a rock for the tangs. It learns a lot from the other fish. In QT it started eating only after it saw a wrasse that I had in there with it eating. Mine eats almost anything though I've never seen it try a pellet. Black worms do make up the majority of its diet, though.