copperband butterfly?

[edge121212]

what would be better to get rid of aiptasia?my tank is getting taken over by these things
will a copper band nip at my coral?

 

[edge121212]

anyone?

 

[rockyz]

I added a copperband to one of my raceways and he cleared the whole thing out of aptasias. It did take him 2 weeks to get started though. When ever i get a peice of rock in with aptasia on it I put it in with the copperband and he takes care of it in minutes. the raceway is full of sps's and lps"s and he has not bothered either in the year he has been in there.I have heard from others that they may eat some corals.

 

[Mattmcf]

i added a CPB about 3 weeks ago and any aptasia that i did have were soon gone. He hasn't nipped at anything else and seems to be a model citizen.

 

[fatboyjoe]

My tang killed my copperband.both about the same size. be careful mixing these two fish.

 

[Quiet1]

I have had very bad luck with CBFs. I am pretty sure the last one I tried had cyanide used on it. It died four days after I got it and it was eating brine shrimp. I watched it eat at the LFS before buying. Such a hard fish to aquire and keep alive. I know people have had some luck with them. It just hasn't been me.

 

[GreenUrchin]

Copperband butterflies may nip tube worms, zoanthids, LPS, and certain soft corals like xenia. However, it really depends on the individual fish. Some copperbands are great reef inhabitants, some are not. They're not easy to care for, often refusing to eat. Quarantine in a separate tank for a month. During that time, try to entice it with garlic soaked food dropped in an area of high flow. If you don't feel you can care for a copperband, you can inject aiptasia with concentrated lemon juice or kalkwasser.

 

[McLaughlin4]

Peppermint shrimp are cheaper and you can can more of them ... They always work for me