Copperband butterfly

[ReefRockerLive]

I need a fish that will aid in getting rid of the aptasia that have been growing in my tank. The copperband seems to be a good candidate, but my only concern is the possibility of them nipping on acros.

Is there anything I should be aware of about this fish in regards to "reef safe" possibilities?

Is there another fish that will eat aptasia and less likely to go after acros?


TIA,

RRL

 

[iCon31]

I have one in my 125g for about a month now. And i never see him nip on any of them.

 

[tangers]

I think you have a better chance of nipping at lps rather than sps. I have yet to know of one that did. I have read some things on the board here and there, but never knew anyone that had a problem.

 

[chuggy]

I had one but he wouldnt eat and slowly starved to death i tried everything i read on them but just could not get him to eat especiaslly aptasia which is what i was after

 

[Wrench]

Copperbands are tricky fish. I have been trying to get one to survive in my system for some time now and only recently had success. Here are my tips;

1.) Get a healthy specimen that is eating. Don't take the risk of buying one online. Go to your LFS and ask them to feed the copperbands. If they're not eating, DON'T buy one. I bought one wholesale, starved to death. Bought one from Live Aquaria, starved to death. Finally bought one that was eating at the LFS and I've had it for a month now. It eats like a pig.

2.)Be sure to add it to a tank with only peaceful fish. I have a powder blue tang that is a huge bully and that is why I think my first copperband never ate. Luckily I have a frag tank with no other fish and that is where shy fish go to be acclimated. I will leave my copperband in there for at least another month to strengthen it and give it the best chances once it goes in the big tank.

3.) Have a variety of foods on hand and plenty of it. Even though the fish ate brine shrimp at the fish store once I got it home it wouldn't touch them, and still wont. Luckily I had some blackworms on hand which it devoured. Feed a little bit of everything until you find something it likes.

 

[chuggy]

good advice

 

[snorvich]

CBB may or not eat aiptasia; some do, some don't. CBB may or may not eat in captivity; some do, some don't. CBB may or may not be reef safe. If you have feather dusters and similar, they are fair game; LPS is more likely to be nipped than SPS.

 

[A-Polymnus]

There is a much easier way to rid your rock of Aptasia than buying a fish that may or may NOT eat it.

This is how I eventually got rid of it for good. Take out the inhabited rock. Using tweezers pull as much of the Aptasia from it's hole then using a saringe squirt a little clorox bleach into the hole. Wait a bout 5 minutes then rinse with salt water from your tank. I, also, then treated with water conditioner & put back in tank.

The rock wasn't out of water for more than 10 minutes total so it didn't dry out. The trick is to be careful in only getting the bleach into the offending hole....it doesn't take but a few drops.

Good luck.

 

[NCSUsalt]

^ i think most people would be better off using joes juice than bleach.

 

[A-Polymnus]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13358985#post13358985 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NCSUsalt
^ i think most people would be better off using joes juice than bleach.

Why? Those off the shelf items don't always work & the bleach does. I did this 3 yrs ago with "NO" ill effects to the rock, water or fish. Aptasia has never returned.

 

[Sabre38]

get a berghia they only eat aptasia. That is if you can find one. When all of your aptaisa is gone give it to a friend with aptasia because when there is none left it will starve to death. Then instead of getting CBB you can get something else that you may actually want that wont be a possible detriment to your reef society.

Oh, and where is Ansonia? I grew up in CT and never heard of it.

 

[ReefRockerLive]

I'll try out both the Berghias and a CBB, but how many berghias should I get for a moderate aptasia problem?

Sabre38, Ansonia is a part of the Valley and 20 minutes from New Haven.

 

[Wrench]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13359054#post13359054 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by A-Polymnus
Why? Those off the shelf items don't always work & the bleach does. I did this 3 yrs ago with "NO" ill effects to the rock, water or fish. Aptasia has never returned.

That's great if you can get the rock out of the tank.

 

[Sabre38]

I would start with just one, unless you find that the aptasia is growing faster than its being eaten. The berghia isnt going to make it dissapear in a day but it will def work with 100% success.

 

[snorvich]

Well, Berghias work well but not 100%. And that is because they die off when they cannot find food (aiptasia) and sometimes miss one or two. And you will need more than one in any case so they will breed.

 

[ReefRockerLive]

Where would I be able to get some?

 

[Jens Kallmeyer]

HI Vinny

Why don't you try the Klein's Butterfly, Chaetodon kleinii? IMO they have a much higher success rate in eataing Aiptasia than CBB.

Best wishes

Jens

 

[Sabre38]

I never see any in LFS and havent tried on line but it seems as if people localy always have them. Try your local club, someones bound to have some or know somone who does.

 

[jbc123]

Why not use peppermint shrimp? Small, shy and usually reliable. Mine ate all my aptasia in a week.. granted I only had a few small ones.

 

[ReefRockerLive]

Hi Jens, thanks for the tip. I'll start looking locally for this fish. I've tried several peppermint shrimp, 20 to be exact and they were all around 1". That didn't work well at all, half of them spent their time in my overflow.